Juniper Hotels’ ambitious growth targets fail to excite investors
Juniper Hotels Ltd plans to double Ebitda by FY27 and triple it by FY30, focusing on aggressive inventory addition and operational improvements.
At a recent investors meeting, Juniper Hotels Ltd, which operates the Grand Hyatt Mumbai and Andaz Delhi, laid out a plan to transform its position in India’s premium hospitality space. The key highlight was its target to double Ebitda by FY27 and triple it by FY30 from ₹336.7 crore in FY25.
To achieve this, Juniper is looking at aggressive inventory addition and improvement in the operational performance of existing assets, primarily through stabilisation of the recently renovated Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. The management reiterated its plan to double the room count to almost 4,000 by FY29 from 1,895.
The pipeline of upcoming offerings is robust. It includes the 220-room hotel near Bengaluru airport, with phase 1 set to open by FY26-end and phase 2 adding another 250 rooms by FY29. A 115-room luxury resort in Kaziranga, Assam, under the Alila brand is expected to open by FY28, while Guwahati will get its first true luxury hotel with 250 rooms by FY29.
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Juniper also plans to add 500 rooms through acquisitions in key metros, with discussions under way. The management said that the ROFO (right of first offer) merger of Hyatt Regency Mumbai and Chennai, adding 737 rooms, is on track for FY27. It admitted that the initial March 2025 deadline was optimistic, given the complexities of the deal.
Nonetheless, the management expects strong demand momentum to continue in FY26 with limited supply in key markets aiding growth prospects. However, the stock has struggled — down from its 52-week high of ₹492 on 19 June 2024 to ₹319.
A key drag is said to have come from the temporary closure of rooms at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai for renovation, a property that contributes significantly to Juniper’s Ebitda. Encouragingly, the hotel stabilised in Q4 post-renovation, with improved pricing and occupancy.
Luxury segment
JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd analysts expect higher growth in Ebitda to be driven by a ramp-up in new inventory and higher ancillary revenue at Grand Hyatt Mumbai.
“We estimate revenue CAGR of c.15% over FY25-28E and EBITDA CAGR of c.22% over the same period (ex-ROFO assets), with EBITDA margin expected to reach 43% by FY28E," they said in a report dated 11 June.
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In FY25, the average room rate in the luxury segment rose 13%, although occupancy was little changed at 74% in FY25 versus 75% in FY24. Revenue rose 16% to ₹944 crore.
Juniper is confident of creating over ₹3,000 crore of financial headroom through internal accruals, free cash flow, and prudent debt usage over the next three years to fund its planned capex of ₹1,800-1,900 crore. Here, the debt trajectory due to expansion needs to be monitored.
Additionally, execution remains critical. Juniper is already running behind its original timeline for adding new assets.
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