Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts Limited has announced exceptional financial results for FY26, marking a defining year of record performance with the company delivering its highest-ever revenue, profitability, and margins while significantly outpacing industry growth. The luxury hospitality company reported operating revenue growth of 15% to ₹15,273 million and operating EBITDA growth of 19% to ₹7,429 million for the financial year ended March 31, 2026.

Outstanding Financial Performance

The company demonstrated remarkable financial strength across all key metrics during FY26. Profit after tax (PAT) rose significantly by approximately 8.5 times to ₹4,030 million from ₹477 million in FY25, while operating EBITDA margin improved substantially to 49%, representing an expansion of 167 basis points year-on-year.

Strong Q4 FY26 Performance

The fourth quarter results demonstrated sustained momentum with operating revenue growing 12% year-on-year to ₹4,844 million. Operating EBITDA increased 13% to ₹2,657 million, while PAT rose 46% to ₹1,717 million. The operating EBITDA margin for Q4 stood at approximately 55%, expanding by 57 basis points year-on-year.

Market Leadership and Operational Excellence

The company significantly outperformed the India luxury segment, delivering approximately 2.3 times RevPAR growth compared to the luxury segment benchmark. The RevPAR index strengthened to 150 in FY26 from 139 in FY25, reflecting continued market share gains. Food & Beverage revenue grew 15% year-on-year to ₹5,499 million, driven by seven curated F&B launches and upgrades across key properties.

The Leela sustained its Net Promoter Score (NPS) leadership with a score of 86 in FY26, significantly ahead of the luxury segment benchmark of 74 in the APAC region. The brand continued to receive global recognition, including "Best Hotel Group of the Year" for the sixth consecutive year.

Strategic Expansion and Balance Sheet Strength

FY26 marked The Leela's fastest pace of expansion with four additions across Mumbai BKC, Palm Jumeirah (Dubai), Jaisalmer, and Coorg, driving 23% growth in keys. The company acquired The Leela Coorg Forest Sanctuary in Q4 FY26, an all-villa ultra-luxury resort with 71 keys spread across 76 acres. The Leela now has a scaled footprint of over 5,200 luxury keys across business and leisure destinations, with 15 operational hotels (4,162 keys) and 9 hotels in the pipeline (1,065 keys).

The company significantly strengthened its balance sheet with net debt reducing from ₹25,677 million in FY25 to ₹12,707 million in FY26. Net Debt to EBITDA improved from 3.7x to 1.6x as of March 31, 2026, providing substantial headroom to fund future growth while maintaining a conservative leverage profile.

Leadership Commentary and Future Outlook

Commenting on the results, Mr. Anuraag Bhatnagar, Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer, highlighted the landmark performance: "FY26 has been a landmark year for The Leela. We delivered a strong, broad-based performance led by double-digit RevPAR growth, driving a 19% EBITDA growth and our highest ever PAT of ₹4,030 million. Our RevPAR outperformance at approximately 2.3 times of the luxury segment continues to deliver market share gains, underscoring our pricing power."

The company remains well-positioned for multi-year growth with a visible pipeline of 1,000+ keys by FY30 across owned developments and capital-light management contracts. The growth strategy continues to be anchored in a combination of owned developments in high barrier-to-entry markets, capital-light management contracts, and value-accretive asset upgrades.

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Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts Limited submitted its Monitoring Agency Report for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, to stock exchanges on April 28, 2026. The report, prepared by ICRA Limited, was reviewed and considered by the company's Audit Committee in its meeting held on the same day. The submission was made pursuant to Regulation 32(6) of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, read with Regulation 41(4) of SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018.

Issue Overview

The company conducted its Initial Public Offer during May 26-28, 2025, with a total issue size of INR 3,500 crore. The offer comprised an Offer for Sale portion of INR 3,500 crore and a fresh issue portion of INR 2,500 crore. The net proceeds from the issue amounted to INR 2,364.402 crore, excluding issue-related expenses. ICRA Limited monitored gross proceeds of INR 2,500 crore in Q4 FY2026.

Utilization of Proceeds

The Monitoring Agency confirmed that the utilization of issuance proceeds is in line with the objects of the issue, with no deviation observed. The proceeds were allocated towards two primary objectives: repayment/prepayment of outstanding borrowings and general corporate purposes.

The repayment of borrowings included obligations of the company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries—Schloss Chanakya, Schloss Chennai, Schloss Udaipur, and TPRPL—through investments in such subsidiaries. The general corporate purposes allocation was utilized for capital expenditure related to asset acquisition.

Deployment Status

By the end of Q4 FY2026, the total utilized amount stood at INR 2,424.494 crore, including issue-related expenses of INR 124.494 crore. The unutilized balance of INR 11.104 crore was deployed in fixed deposits with State Bank of India, earning a return of 6.50%. The fixed deposit of INR 18.801 crore matures on August 31, 2026, with an accrued interest of INR 1.018 crore.

Implementation Progress

ICRA confirmed that both monitored objects are on schedule. The repayment/prepayment of borrowings is progressing as per Fiscal 2026 targets, while general corporate purposes are aligned with the Fiscal 2026-2027 timeline. The Monitoring Agency noted that there are no favorable or unfavorable events affecting the viability of these objects, and no material deviations from expenditures disclosed in the offer document have occurred.