ABOUT THE COMPANY

Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Limited (ADVANIHOTR) is a publicly-traded Company incorporated in 1987, headquartered in Mumbai and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India.

It owns and operates the ‘Caravela Beach Resort Goa’; an independent, 201-key, 5-Star Deluxe golf resort on the Arabian Sea, designed by the world-famous architects WATG (who designed both the ‘Atlantis’ resorts).

The Caravela is located on a 23-acre estate with a 275-meter-long beachfront on the powdery white sands of Varca Beach, South Goa. The Caravela is surrounded by immaculately landscaped gardens and a golf course designed by the international landscape architect, Belt Collins.

The resort was awarded the Booking.com ‘Travellers Review Award’ consecutively from 2018 to 2023. The Caravela won the prestigious ‘TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award’ in 2021 & 2023, placing it amongst the top 10% of hotels worldwide.

The audited results for the Financial Year 2022 – 2023 indicate a noteworthy set of financial ratios. The Company is debt-free and has been consistently rewarding its shareholders through the distribution of dividends over the last 10 years, excluding the year of COVID-19 (the Financial Year 2020 - 2021).

The Company is managed by the Founder and Chairman & Managing Director - Mr. Sunder G. Advani, the Chief Executive Officer & Whole-Time Director - Mr. Prahlad S. Advani and the Executive Director - Mr. Haresh G. Advani; together with a distinguished Board of Independent Directors.

 

Mr. Sunder G. Advani is the Chairman and Managing Director of the Company. He obtained his undergraduate degree at Temple University and his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business Administration at the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He was a marketing consultant in a U.S. based company. for over 10 years.

Mr. Sunder G. Advani's foray into the hospitality industry in India started of as a Promoter and later as the Executive Director of the Bombay Holiday Inn Hotel at Juhu Beach. He was also appointed as a representative of Holiday Inn Inc. (worldwide). He played a pivotal role in developing Holiday Inn hotels in South-Asia. He successfully established Holiday Inns in Bombay, Agra, Madras and Colombo.

Simultaneously, Mr. Sunder G. Advani was a co-promoter of Plaza Hotels Pvt. Limited, which was the first airport hotel with 100% occupancy. They also had a flight catering unit, which was also extremely successful in catering to airlines like Indian Airlines, Alitalia, Gulf Air, Aeroflot and others.

Subsequently, Mr. Advani, who by this time had become the representative for Ramada International Inc. in India, promoted the Ramada Renaissance Resort* in Goa along with an investment made by Ramada International Inc. This was the first time that Ramada International had ever invested in a Franchise operation.

Mr. Advani has received the Hall of Fame Award at ITB Berlin in March 2000 and an award from Giants International federation in Goa for his contribution towards the Hospitality Industry. He has been honored with a Vocational Excellence Award from the Rotary in Mumbai. He currently holds the esteemed position of Executive Vice President at the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry and also the Chairman of the London based World Travel and Tourism Council (India Initiative).

CHAIRMAN’S SPEECH AT THE 37TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE COMPANY HELD ON 20 SEPTEMBER 2024. THIS WAS PUBLISHED IN ‘ECONOMIC TIMES’ NEWSPAPER, ALL INDIA EDITION, ON 3 OCTOBER 2024. Read More

According to the HVS report, hotel occupancy in Goa in 2023 was approximately 72%. Our resort hotel achieved an average occupancy of 83.8% for the same year. With a significant contribution to our exceptional occupancy rate, we are dedicated to sustaining this momentum in FY25, driven by continued growth in MICE and leisure travel. HVS also reported a drop in average room rates in Goa this year. We have always believed that Total Revenue Per Occupied Room is a better yardstick than Average Room Rate, as food and beverage and wedding revenues comprise a large part of many hotels' revenues. The Revenue Per Occupied Room per night for the financial year 2023-2024 for our resort was INR 18,798, compared to INR 17,556 in the previous financial year.

Continuing our journey to eliminate single-use plastic, we have installed 'Caravela Aqua', an in-house water bottling plant, reducing our reliance on single-use plastic bottles and underscoring the company’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

Your Company’s total income for the financial year 2023-2024 was INR 1,084 million, which is 8% higher than the previous year. This was despite the opening of the new Mopa Airport and the diversion of several flights from Dabolim Airport in South Goa to Mopa Airport in North Goa.

Your Company’s profit before tax was INR 335 million for the year ended FY24. The net profit after tax for the financial year was INR 250 million. Your Company is debt-free, unlike many other hotels in our industry. Despite being a single hotel property without the advantage of spreading fixed costs across multiple locations, we managed to achieve an impressive 46.6% pre-tax return on equity capital, including free reserves.

During FY24, your Company recorded the highest return on assets at 26.3%, which is more than 2.5 times the industry average of 9.9%, creating a new benchmark for the overall industry. This has been achieved through a combination of cost efficiencies and legacy effects.

The profit available for appropriation has increased from INR 503 million to INR 582 million. This is a testament to your Company’s commitment to creating shareholder value and rewarding all our shareholders. A research study has ranked our Company among the top 10 dividend-paying companies by percentage among all listed corporations in India, based on dividends paid over the past 10 years. With this objective, we have already declared two dividends for the financial year 2023-2024, totalling INR 166.4 million (compared to INR 157.1 million the previous year). This is the highest dividend payout declared by our Company in any year in its 34-year history.

In addition, we have rewarded our loyal shareholders by issuing bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1 in January, and these shares were allotted to all of you on 21 March 2024. This increased our Company’s equity capital from INR 9.24 crores to INR 18.49 crores. Despite this, we ended the year as a virtually debt-free Company and increased our investment and cash balance from INR 36.8 crores to INR 48.5 crores by the end of the financial year.

The number of shares traded in our Company has increased dramatically. As a result, the number of shareholders has risen from a mere 20,115 on 28 January 2024 to 38,323 as of 16 August 2024.

Since our industry could be affected if the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalates further, I took the initiative of handing over a letter to the head of G20 a year ago, asking him to request our PM to meet with President Putin and also the President of Ukraine to start diplomatic efforts to end the war. I would like to thank our Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, for having visited Moscow for a meeting with President Putin in June and followed up with a meeting with President Zelensky of Ukraine in August. His efforts to promote a diplomatic resolution to the conflict are greatly appreciated.

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to every member of our organisation for their dedication and commitment to the pursuit of excellence. We are optimistic about our future and remain committed to investing in our business to enhance our value proposition for our guests. Our efforts have delivered an exceptional and authentic hospitality experience for our guests that is synonymous with our Company’s unique history and reputation.

I would also like to thank our shareholders, tour operators, travel agents, Booking.com, and MakeMyTrip, as well as our repeat guests. I am indebted to our employees, bankers, and government officials in the Ministries of Finance, Home, Commerce, External Affairs, Tourism, Civil Aviation, Labour, Road Transport, and Niti Aayog. The Government of Goa, especially our Honourable Chief Minister, has assisted us in our efforts to increase tourism to Goa. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Village Panchayat of Varca for their continuous support. I wish to thank our Board of Directors for their wisdom and guidance, and especially our CEO.