Leela Palaces Hotels (THELEELA IN): Buy: Set to benefit from even tighter demand-supply

Research evidence excerpt

Leela Palaces Hotels (THELEELA IN): Buy: Set to benefit from even tighter demand-supply

Equities ● Hotels Restaurants & Leisure

3 August 2026

Key takeaways from the call

Trading and outlook for FY27: Leela reiterated double-digit revenue growth and mid to high

teens EBITDA growth expectations for FY27.

International business has recovered steadily over the quarter, with international room revenue

mix moving from -10% YoY in March to +1% in June, with July trends continuing marginally

above last year, and August to benefit from festive and weekend demand for resorts.

It expects usual seasonality to hold, with 2H being the peak for international. It also expects the

recovery in international demand to be incremental and not to replace domestic, which means it

could offer strong support to ARRs.

FY30 profit and ROCE outlook: The company guided FY30 EBITDA to be 10.0x FY20, which

implies an FY30 EBITDA of cINR19bn. The company expects FY30 ROCE in the mid to high

teens. Management sounded very confident about this target, driven by approximately low

double-digit growth in ARR every year.

Dubai performance (JV) and plan: Leela booked a INR156m loss against its 25% stake in the

JV as the Middle East conflict has temporarily impacted occupancy and ARR there. However,

management said that the hotel is breaking even.

Coorg performance post acquisition: Management noted that ARR has nearly doubled vs pre

acquisition and the asset achieved operational EBITDA breakeven in 1Q. Ramp up is expected

via integration into Leela’s distribution and loyalty ecosystem, plus a focus on wellness. The

company also plans to add 19 villas in this property

Cost efficiency levers: Management noted renegotiation of vendor rates via central

procurement.