Thomas Cook India’s hospitality arm, Sterling Holiday Resorts is mulling an IPO, according to sources.
According to two people in the know, early stage conversations have begun to unleash the value of Sterling Holiday Resorts. The first person said that Sterling Holidays, which has been over 35 years, has begun conversations with Fairfax which owns Thomas Cook India. The other person said that while the conversations are at a nascent stage, the company will be at the correct stage over the next few fiscals.
Discussions underway
On the basis of this information, in a recent interview, when BusinessLine asked Vikram Lalvani, Managing Director & CEO, Sterling Holiday Resorts Ltd, he said, “Right now, it’s premature because we have not finalised on that front but the focus remains on growing the company to ensure it delivers the experience we have promised. Having said that, when this comes in, it will be discussed. As and when these plans get formalised, we’ll announce it.”
Currently, its direct competitor, Mahindra Holidays has been listed. Besides Mahindra Holidays, Tata Group-owned Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), Oberoi Hotels, Lemon Tree and Chalet too are listed in India within the hospitality sector.
As of September 2022, Sterling has around 40 resorts across India.
If FY22, the resort posted a revenue from operations of ₹245 crore compared to a ₹194 crore last fiscal. It’s profit after tax for the said year doubled to ₹40 crore compared to ₹20 crore the same time last fiscal. However, its expenses rose to ₹216 crore from ₹180 crore last fiscal.
It reported a growth of 58 per cent in FY22 over the previous year, with six consecutive quarters registering EBITDA level profitability with 37 per cent operating margin.