EIH, the owner of India’s second most popular and oldest brand of Oberoi Hotels reported a topline growth of 10%, which is in line with the industry. The 15% rise in salary cost has been the primary reason for lower operating margin of 30%. Q1 FY09 PAT was at Rs 380 mn a 4% growth YoY.
Mumbai continue to be healthy. We expect revenues to get a boost once the Trident, BKC at Mumbai starts operations by the beginning of Q4FY09. The opening of the Trident BKC will be the primary trigger for the company as nearly Rs. 8 bn has been spent as capex on this 440 key property.
For the full year, EIH is expected to report an EPS of Rs 5.8 almost flat growth compared to previous year.