Aditya Suresh

Aditya Suresh asked about the growth breakdown in the standalone hotels segment, specifically across premium, budget, and international categories, and inquired about any changes to the underlying take rate due to this evolving mix. He also questioned the underlying margin for the rapidly growing ancillary services.

Answer

Mohit Kabra, Group CFO, explained that standalone hotel room nights grew 20.6% year-on-year, with non-premium segments growing faster at 23% due to GST rationalization. He noted that overall margins remained stable at approximately 17.7%. For ancillary services, Mr. Kabra detailed growth from new offerings like intercity cabs, airport transfers, rail ticketing, insurance, Forex, ad tech, visa services, and tours/activities, indicating varying margin profiles but overall strong contribution to platform-level profitability.

Aditya Suresh asked about the growth breakdown in the standalone hotels segment, specifically across premium, budget, and international categories, and inquired about any changes to the underlying take rate as the mix shifts. He also asked for quantification of the underlying margin for the strong revenue growth seen in ancillary services.

Answer

Mohit Kabra (Group CFO) explained that standalone hotel room nights grew 20.6% year-on-year, with the non-premium segment growing faster at 23% due to GST rationalization. He noted that overall margins remained stable at 17.7%. Regarding ancillary services, Mr. Kabra detailed growth drivers including intercity cabs, airport transfers, rail ticketing, insurance, Forex, ad tech, visa services, and tours/activities, stating that while some segments have industry-aligned margins, others significantly contribute to profitability, which is viewed at a platform level.

Aditya Suresh of Macquarie Group questioned if there was any down-trading in hotel average daily rates (ADRs), the contribution of MICE travel to growth, the long-term growth potential for ancillary services, and recent changes to the board's composition.

Answer

Group CEO Rajesh Magow confirmed that hotel ADRs did not see a material drop. He also noted that corporate travel, including MICE, was a strong growth driver. Group CFO Mohit Kabra expressed confidence that the ancillary services segment could sustain high growth, possibly in the 30% range, driven by new product additions. Mr. Kabra also detailed the board changes, including a reduction in Trip.com nominees and the addition of independent directors.

Aditya Suresh requested the share of international business in gross bookings for air and hotels, clarification on ancillary service attach rates, and an explanation for the decline in hotel value per booking despite a higher international mix.

Answer

Group CFO Mohit Kabra provided the international mix for adjusted margin: 38% for air and nearly 18% for hotels. He noted that ancillary attach rates are stable, and the growth in the "other" segment is driven by new services like car rentals and ForEx. He explained that the value per booking reflects a moderation in hotel price increases after two years of significant catch-up, rather than a decline in demand.

Aditya Suresh noted that domestic gas production was tracking above expectations and asked for the company's latest thoughts on this trend, as well as guidance on margins for both domestic gas and oil volumes.

Answer

An executive from the upstream business attributed the higher-than-expected gas production to robust market demand, which the company moved to supply. He anticipates an even stronger Q4 due to winter seasonality and the ongoing shift from coal to gas power. Another executive specified that the margin for both conventional and unconventional gas is approximately CNY 0.10 per cubic meter.