Oriental Hotels Limited AGM July 27 2021 Transcript final

Tom Antony

Dear shareholders good morning, this is Tom Antony Company Secretary. I am very pleased to welcome you to 51st Annual General Meeting of Oriental Hotels Limited done through video conference. I would like to take you through certain points regarding participation at this meeting. The facility of joining the AGM through video conference or other audio video visual means has been made available for members on first come, first serve basis. All those who have joined the meeting are by default placed on mute mode to avoid any disturbance background noise and enter smooth and seamless conduct of the meeting.

Once the Q&A session starts, Chairman announce the name of the shareholder who have registered and speak one-by-one. Only the audio of the shareholder be will there after unmuted by Host. To start speaking, the shareholder is requested to click the video on button and wait till the video is on. If the shareholder is not able to join through video for any reason, the shareholders can speak through the audio mode. While speaking we would request the speaker to use the earphones so the voice is clearly audible, minimize any voice in the background.

Ensure that Wi-Fi is not connected to any other device, no other background application are running and proper lighting to have a good video and audio experience. If there is a connectivity problem at the speaker shareholder end we would ask the next speaker to join, once the connectivity improves the speaker shareholder may be called again to speak, once the other shareholders complete their turn. We would like to request the shareholders to limit their speech to three minutes.

During the AGM if a member faces any critical issues he may contact the helpline number mentioned in the notice of AGM. Thank you. Now, I request Mr. Puneet Chhatwal Chairman to commence the proceeding of the meeting.

Puneet Chhatwal

Thank you. Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I would like to welcome all the shareholders to the 51st AGM of the Company. As the requisite quorum is present, I now call the meeting to order. Before, I start with the proceedings, I would like to call on the Directors who are on the video conference to introduce themselves. First of all, Managing Director, Mr. Pramod Ranjan

Pramod Ranjan

Thank you Puneet. Good morning shareholder I am Pramod Ranjan, Managing Director and

CEO of Oriental Hotels Limited. I am also a member of Stakeholders Relationship Committee and CSR Committee at the Board. I am participating from my office in Chennai. Thank you.

Puneet Chhatwal

Mr. Vijay Sankar.

Vijay Sankar

Good morning shareholder, I am Vijay Sankar an Independent Director from the Board of

Oriental Hotels Limited. I am Chairman of the Audited Committee, the Stakeholder Relationship

Committee and the CSR Committee at the Board. I am participating from my office in Chennai.

Thank you.

Puneet Chhatwal

Mr. Phillie D. Karkaria

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Phillie D. Karkaria

This is Phillie Karkaria, I am an Independent Director on the Board of Oriental Hotels Limited and Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, I am also a member of the Audit

Committee and participating in this meeting from my residence in Mumbai.

Puneet Chhatwal

Ms. Gita Nayyar.

Gita Nayyar

Good morning shareholder, I am Gita Nayyar an Independent Director on the Board of Oriental

Hotels Limited. I am also a member of the Audit and Nomination and Remuneration Committee and participating in this meeting from Dubai. Thank you.

Puneet Chhatwal

Mr. Harish Lakshman.

Harish Lakshman

Good morning shareholders I am Harish Lakshman, and Independent Director on the Board of

Oriental Hotels Limited. I am participating in this meeting from my office in Chennai. Thank you.

Puneet Chhatwal

Nina Chatrath.

Nina Chatrath

Good morning shareholders I am Nina Chatrath an Independent Director on the Board of

Oriental Hotels Limited. I am participating in this meeting from year residence in New Delhi.

Thank you.

Puneet Chhatwal

Mr. Vijayagopal Reddy.

Vijayagopal Reddy

Good morning shareholders this is Vijayagopal Reddy – Non-Executive Director on the Board of your Company. I am also a member of the Stakeholder Relationship Committee, Nomination and Remuneration Committee and CSR Committee. I am participating from my residence in

Chennai. Thank you.

Puneet Chhatwal

Mr. Ramesh Hariani. (difficulty in connecting) In the meantime we go to Mr. Sanjeevi.

Giridhar Sanjeevi

Hello shareholders, I am Giridhar Sanjeevi – Non-Executive Director on the Board of Oriental

Hotels Limited. I am also member of the audit committee at the Board. I am participating in the meeting from my residence in Mumbai. Thank you.

Puneet Chhatwal

Mr. Ramesh Hariani try once more. Okay, as long as you can hear we will proceed with the

AGM. All the Directors of the Company are present at this meeting. We also have Mr. Tom

Antony – Company Secretary, Mr. Sreyas Arumbakkam, Chief Financial Officer and representative of our Statutory Auditor and Secretarial Auditor who are present at this meeting through video conference. I thank all the members for joining this meeting. I hope the members are safe and in good health. Due to the continuing Coronavirus lockdown and social distancing norms we are holding this Annual General Meeting through video conference. This is in compliance with the direction of the Ministry of Corporate Affair. The Company has taken the

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July 27, 2021 requisite steps to enable members to participate and vote for the items being considered in this

AGM.

Your Company has received eight letters along with Board resolution from corporate shareholder appointing and authorizing representative under Section 113 of the Companies Act

2013, in respect of 67598930 equity shares representing 37.85% equity capital. Since there is no physical attendance of members the requirement of appointing proxy is not applicable. The resolutions as required under the Companies Act 2013 and the documents that are required to be kept open in terms of the resolution provided in the AGM notice are available for inspection.

Members who have not voted earlier through remote e-voting can cast their votes in the course of the meeting through e-voting facility. Since the notice is already circulated to all the members

I take the notice convened the meeting as read.

Dear shareholders with your permission let me begin my formal address with a short update from the Indian Hospitality sector, the Company’s performance and future outlook. The past one and a half year have perhaps been the most challenging times for hospitality industry ever faced in terms of the unprecedented scale and impact of COVID-19. However, this crisis has also been a true test of resilience for all of us. I am glad that the Company with the help of a strategic framework launched by Indian Hotel could face the challenges successfully and has been able to create opportunities from adversities we all faced.

On the macroeconomic scenario the global economy contracted by 3.3% in 2020 as a result of the diminished economic activity across the globe induced by COVID-19 pandemic. The Indian economy witnessed first year of contraction since 1980 with an estimated decline of 7.7% in the year 2021. Most developed and large economies responded to the pandemic by extra ordinary measures to stimulate the economy especially through liquidity support other favorable regulatory changes. The adverse effect of the pandemic has been more severe on nations that rely on tourism and exports and those with limited policy space to respond.

The Indian hospitality sector is estimated to have incurred revenues loses to the tune of

Rs.90,000 crore in 2020 with REVPAR levels declined by as much as 57 to 59% in the year.

However, in terms of the contribution to GDP, India’s ranking on the global tourism landscape improved two position to number 7 which is an indicator of the nation’s potential in this sector.

Your Company took proactive measures to address the challenges posed by pandemic and navigate through the crisis and reset itself to emerge stronger. R E S E T 2020 strategy has been carved out to ensure that the Company is able to Survive, Revive and Thrive through the pandemic and beyond.

The timely implementation of the group wide strategy viz., “R.E.S.E.T 2020” which focuses on

Revenue growth, Excellence in guest well-being, experience and operations, Spend optimisation by rationalising resources and optimizing expenditure, Effective asset management and Thrift and financial prudence to achieve better efficiencies has immensely helped your company to minimise the negative impact of the pandemic on its finance and operations.

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You Company has taken significant steps to enhance liquidity with more focus on our preparedness for recovery and long term growth. Our top priorities during the pandemic has been the safety of our guest and our associates and continuity of operation.

Let me move to revenue safety and CSR initiative. Exploring new revenue generating channels was the need of the hour and many innovative initiatives were implemented under the IHCL group strategy. Notable among them are Qmin a gourmet food delivery service based on Qumin app introduced by IHCL an industry first by an Indian Hospitality Company. Hospitality at home a program at hotel supply bakery confectionary gourmet hampers and wellness product and laundry services to homes of its patrons

Then comes the 4D, which stands for Dream, Drive, Discovery and Delight targeted at driving distance holidays and younger travelers. Pandemic has heightened awareness of hygiene and safety, these aspects actually have been given a new force by deploying latest technology. The introduction of I-Zest was part of the digital and technological initiative brought under the recent strategy. This offers contactless enhanced guest service experiences, from pre-arrival to departure. Your Company has also taken several other measures to ensure safety and wellbeing of its associates and guests in the wake of the challenges posed by the pandemic. As part of these measures, training programs with a focus on precautionary measures and safety protocols to avoid transmission of virus in the workplace. By implementing early vaccination drive for our employees has ensured that the health and safety of our employees have been safeguarded.

On the Company’s performance and key highlights:

Your Company reported a lower Revenue of ₹123.21 crores and Loss of ₹53.38 crores on standalone basis during the year due to business disruptions caused by the pandemic. The

Company responded with agility to the unprecedented drop in revenues consequent to COVID-

19. The cost reduction drive involved review of fixed costs and discretionary spends, renegotiation of contractual obligations and reduction of corporate overheads. The Company’s efforts of spend optimisation, effective asset management and financial prudence have contributed to reducing fixed costs by approximately 28% from the previous year’s levels.

The Company continued to maintain a healthy capital structure with Net Debt to Total Capital at 0.46 times and Net Debt to Equity at 0.77 times. Your Company believes in the importance of environment, sustainability and governance in its business. The Company has demonstrated its commitment to the society by opening the doors of its properties to house medical staff to assist the State Governments and local authorities in their mission to control the pandemic. We value the idea of ‘giving back to the society’ and this ideology drives us to create shared value for all. As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives various programs in collaboration with local communities around our hotels have been undertaken.

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On dividend in view of the losses incurred by the Company during the year, and in absence of retained earning. The board did not recommend any dividends to the year 2021. This is in line with the with the dividend distribution policy of the Company.

Keeping in mind the sentiments of the shareholders in the difficult times we have been undergoing due to the pandemic as a token of goodwill I would like to announce an enhancement in the value of discount coupon offered to the shareholders this year to Rs.10,000 which will entitle them to avail a discount of 25% on bill value subject to the certain conditions.

The strong recovery witnessed at the end of the first wave of the pandemic reinforce our optimism that domestic tourism will recover faster with an increased momentum in the leisure sector aided by the drastic drop in outbound leisure travel. Even though the second wave of the pandemic plateaued, the situation is still evolving and remains contingent on the pace of vaccination, efficacy of vaccines, the changing nature of the virus and possibility of a third wave.

The extension of certain fiscal measures like ECLGS (emergency credit line guarantee scheme) to the hospitality sector are expected to greatly help the industry in meeting the operational and financial commitments in the medium term. Going forward, it is expected that the supply growth will slow down significantly, due to the delay in commissioning new projects coupled with closure of several highly leveraged hotel properties. We expect the revenues to be softer during the period of lockdowns and for the period of transition to the normalcy. However, your

Company is confident to rebound strongly in the post COVID-19 world.

I count on your continued support to overcome these challenging times and continue with our aspiration to drive profitable growth and maximize value for all our stakeholders in a sustainable manner. Thank you.

I now request the Company Secretary to explain the sequence of meeting and process of voting on the resolution in the meeting, Mr. Tom Antony.

Tom Antony

Thank you Chairman sir. The Companies Act 2013 and SEBI Listed Regulation provided for electronic voting. Accordingly, the Company had provided the facility to cast their vote through electronic voting facility administered by NSDL. Facility for voting at the meeting is also provided for members here and who have not voted. Members, may please go to the voting page of NSDL e-voting website and cast their vote while at the same time watch the proceedings of meeting. Ms. Deepa Ramani of KSM Associates practicing Company Secretary has been appointed as scrutinizers to scrutinize the vote cast at the meeting and the remote e-voting. Since the AGM is being held through video conference or other audio-visual means and the resolutions mentioned in the notice considering in this AGM have been already put vote through remove e- voting there will now proposing and seconding of the resolution. Thank you.

Puneet Chhatwal

Thank you Mr. Tom Antony. I will now call one by one those members who have registered to speak. The first one is Dr. Arun Kumar Bopanna.

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Dr. Arun Kumar Bopanna

Good morning to everybody and good morning to Mr. Chhatwal, nice seeing you after long time.

Your smile is good. Thanks Tom Antony for setting up this VC for me. Sir with the pandemic and de-growth, Tata showed real character by offering free boarding and lodging to frontline doctors and nurses. Taj will have a place in the history sir and I am proud of it, it has altered the way society will look at us sir. Complements to you Mr. Chhatwal for realizing Tata’s ambition with responsibility, resilience for enhancing tailored experiences too.

And my question, infrastructure status is high time and right to get it, more than ever before the government should concern with the pandemic effect now. Sir was there any property tax waiver, liquor license waivers, and concession in real estate municipal taxes in the pandemic, to protect the livelihoods of people dependent on tourism industry.

With the unlocking our economy can we expect major pent up demand to pick up in the travel and hospitality industry can we see some surprises are we prepared for it, with both vaccines done, will it accelerate tourism industry.

Ginger Brand and Hospitality Industry too seems to be tilting towards economy and midscale spaces your comments.

How much power is generated through solar energy, it can generate employment and the opportunities to with social economic benefits, what would be the effect on the P&L if inflation continues.

In conclusion sir, people are bursting with life do not need a purpose to live. With international benchmark for excellence, responsibility and sustainability which is Tata’s purpose I wish

Oriental Hotels all the best. Thank you very much

Puneet Chhatwal

Ms. Indrani Roy.

Moderator

Ms. Indrani Roy Please unmute your webcam and your microphone and go ahead with your question.

Indrani Roy

I’ll just start with the question sir. Good morning respected Chairman, Board members and my fellow shareholders, I would like to place four questions here.

First of all I appreciate the efforts taken to bring out an impressive annual report, this is helpful to understand more about the Company. In this regard I would like to know the cost incurred for the annual report this year.

Secondly, the yearly occupancy rate is given in the annual report as 33% during 2020-21. What was the lowest and the highest monthly occupancy rate and ARR, during 2021.

Thirdly, the number of hotels under the Company seems to have reduced from nine to seven now, it seems IHCL in spite of the pandemic is adding more hotels to its portfolio but we can’t

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July 27, 2021 see any growth initiative in this Company in spite of its strong association with IHCL. Will appreciate if you can throw some light on the Company’s plan on its growth strategy.

Lastly, is there any possibility to increase the number of room in the existing hotel’s property and any plan in this direction?

Thank you so much. Those are my questions.

Puneet Chhatwal

Thank you. Mr. Gyaneshwar K Bhagat.

Moderator

Sir we are unable to connect Mr. Gyaneshwar K Bhagat, we are trying to connect him on audio sir.

Puneet Chhatwal

Shall I wait or we will go to the next speaker.

Moderator

Sir we can move to the next speaker shareholder.

Puneet Chhatwal

Mr. Venkateshan.

Moderator

Mr. Venkateshan, please unmute your microphone and your webcam and go ahead with your question.

Venkateshan

There is some problem in my video, I will go with the audio. Good morning Mr. Chairman and other officials and my fellow shareholders. I have about four, five questions. Can I ask you one by one, or you want me to say the entire questions and then you will give me the answer in one say.

Puneet Chhatwal

Yes, please share your questions, I’ll come back to the answers later.

Venkateshan

Okay. The first question, the debt level of the Company have increased compared to the last year even though Company monetized it some of its hotel assets and repaid its debentures, please explain the reason and the details of the fresh borrowing here, that is number one question.

And the second question is, what is the average return on investment made by the Company on a foreign investment till now? Any plans to liquidate the investments or other non-performing asset to avoid further debt in current scenario.

And third question is, as the Company is highly leveraged, how the Company is going to ensure adequate liquidity for continuity of operations if revenues are severely affected due to COVID.

The fourth one is, how much is the reduction in number of employees and the employees cost compared to last financial year due to pay cut and retrenchment due to COVID.

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And lastly, what is the reason for reversal of property tax of Rs. 2.57 crores referred on Page

#129. These are my questions sir.

Puneet Chhatwal

Thank you Mr. Venkateshan. With that we move to Mr. Joe Pulican.

Moderator

Mr. Joe Pulican please unmute your microphone and your webcam and go ahead with your question.

Joe Pulican

Good morning to all present, I thank the management for the opportunity to speak at the AGM and assistance provided by the Company to join the meeting smoothly. My questions were

management are

My first question is, why there is sudden and steep increase in the share price of the Company recently?

My second question is, how much is loss incurred due to perishable short shelf-life items as hotels were close in the lockdown period, what are the steps taken to reduce this loss in future?

My third question is, what are the steps taken by the Company to reduce the pending tax in the context of various schemes announced by the government, any reduction in this regard during the year.

And my fourth and last question is, whether the volume availed or benefitted from any special schemes announced by the Government due to COVID. Thank you.

Puneet Chhatwal

Thank you. With that we move to Mr. Gaurav.

Moderator

Mr. Gaurav, please unmute your microphone and webcam and go ahead with your question. As there is no response from Mr. Gaurav we will try to connect him on audio, we will move on to the next speaker shareholder.

Puneet Chhatwal

Mr. Bharatraj Kankanana.

Moderator

Please unmute your microphone and your webcam and go ahead with your question. We are not getting any response from Mr. Kankanana, we’ll try to connect him on audio sir.

Puneet Chhatwal

Mr. Santosh Kumar Saraf.

Moderator

Mr. Santosh Kumar Saraf please unmute your microphone and your webcam and go ahead with your question.

Santosh Kumar Saraf

Respected Chairman, all attendee, and my shareholders friends we are connected via video conference. I am Santosh Kumar Saraf from Calcutta. Sir, I hope all the Directors and their family, employees and their family and the stakeholders and their family are safe in this COVID

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July 27, 2021 time. I have written my question in English and shared with you I hope you might have received it by now.

My questions were what have you done so that this COVID is least impacted in our business, and what are the measure in operations so that he impact is less and what steps have you taken for cost cutting, this was my question. I also want to know your CAPEX plan by which our

Company growth and incomes increases please let us know about it and let us know about water consumption and how we can reuse and recycle water and what steps have you taken so that we use more of the solar energy. And have you did any arrangement for solar panels in hotel rooms or if you have any plans in future do let us know about it so that we cut short our cost. How many new employees did you add in this year let us know about it. Please tell us the total strengthen of the employees as per zone, gender and age. How much percentage of the employees and their family are vaccinated and if they took the vaccine in a private hospital so did we pay them the charges. Kashmir has opened up so do you plan to put up any new project in Kashmir let us know about that because there is option for development, many people wish to go there after COVID. Lastly I wish to thank you for giving me time and pray God for all

Directors, staff employees, all stakeholders to keep them healthy, wealthy in this 2021. One request is that we attend physical meetings, we used to get sweet cake and now due to this digital meeting we do not get it, if it is there please allow, we will appoint to collect through someone.

Thank you sir, I wish long life for you, directors and employees.

Puneet Chhatwal

Thank you. Mr. Varun Tambal.

Moderator

Sir Mr. Varun Tambal is not connected.

Puneet Chhatwal

Mr. Manoj Kumar Gupta.

Moderator

Mr. Manoj Lumar Gupta, please unmute your microphone and your web cam and go ahead with your question.

Manoj Kumar Gupta

Good morning. Thanks to you and your team for good results and I thank the Company Secretary and his team especially Mr. Hari who helped us to join this meeting through VC. So, I will not see a single line on CSR because, I am shareholder of all Tata group companies and Indian

Hotels, I know their policy and the principal about the CSR. So, I will not say a single word about the CSR. And what is your future plans with CAPEX in the Oriental Hotel and you have already covered about the COVID impact and unclaimed dividend before sending it to the

Central Government, please send a notice to the shareholders that they can collect their dividend from the Company otherwise all the shares should be transferred in the Investor Education

Projects Fund. So, you can do one thing, you can put their name on the website that they can claim their dividend and what is your future outlook for the hotel business. Because COVID has hit three businesses hospitality, civil aviation and events business. Will you approach the

Government to waive off the luxury tax and municipal taxes and try to launch new hotels in

Tirupati and other pilgrim places in South India. South India, Rameswaram, Tirupati,

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Kanyakumari and other places. Try to launch some new hotels, so that the pilgrims can stay in your hotel. Last but not the least I thank you and your team and I pray Almighty that coming year will be successful and you will be back to in the dividend list and try to offer some discount to the shareholders on their stay in this time. Thank you sir.

Puneet Chhatwal

Thank you. Ms. Annmaria Francis.

Moderator

Ms. Annmaria Francis, please unmute your microphone and web cam and you can go ahead with your question.

Annmaria Francis

Thank you. Chairman Sir, thank you for the opportunity to speak at this AGM. As the industry faced the most challenging time staying afloat and finding new opportunities for those is most important for the hospitality Company. I appreciate first the Board and Management for implementing new strategies to swiftly address the impact of the pandemic and protecting our interest. Now I would like to add three questions, first question what are the CSR activities undertaken by the Company during this year, especially on COVID front. Has the management decided to stop any renovation projects due to this COVID-19 and next one how the Company is going to increase its revenue in the wake of continuing threat from the pandemic and what are the safety precautions implemented by the Company for the safety of employees and guests in the prevailing situation and last one how much Company has saved due to this usage of renewable power. These are my questions, thank you.

Puneet Chhatwal

Thank you. Mr. Yusuf Yunus Rangwala.

Moderator

Mr. Yusuf Yunus Rangwala please unmute your microphone and web cam and go ahead with your question.

Yusuf Yunus Rangwala

I’m very happy with our Company Secretary and his team. I'm joining for the first time, this is the 51st annual meeting, my good wishes and I belong to Indian Taj Group, nothing more to add.

My good wishes are there and all our hotels are closed. Now how we are getting people at present. All the hotel staffs have taken the COVID-19, what is the staff I would like to know.

All the people and staff are working and what is in Covid-19, any people effected and nothing more to add. I'm thankful to the Chorus people and also no dividend for this year. How you're celebrating this 50 years, we accept the bonus in coming year you will give us bonus. Nothing more to add my good wishes are there. By wishing all Company good luck and also thanking for the discount coupon. Thank you very much. Goodbye, sir.

Puneet Chhatwal

So, let me start answering.

Moderator

Sir, sorry to interrupt you. We have two speaker shareholders connected on audio, as you were not able to hear them. Mr. Dhyaneswar K Bhagat.

Dhyaneswar K Bhagat

Thank you very much. Thank you Mr. Tom for allowing to speak to audience through audio.

Because of my network problem, that's why they had given me chance to speak. First of all, I

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July 27, 2021 thank our Company Secretary for sending me the softcopy well in advance which is full of knowledge and the easy to understand and also for drafting the annual report copy which is good, done an excellent work. Certainly, sir I don’t have any problem about the financial part because

I am the shareholder of Oriental Hotel as well is Indian Hotel, I know the policy for both hotels.

I know it very well. Thirdly I strongly support all the resolutions, just now one shareholder told me that you have not given the dividend, there is no problem I know our Company is doing very well, they have to save some dividend for the coming year. There are few questions. Is our

Company arranging or has arranged camp for employees and their families for Covid vaccine and Covaxin. How much employee has taken first and second dose? Second question is, how much staff are working from home and how much from Office? What is the output from COVID-

19, how our Company is growing in this dark situation, what is our five-year plan for coming years, because our hospitality is facing lot of problem, so is our Company planning something new for our existing business or something you’re planning new business coming up that is my last question. Rest Chhatwal Ji, I had spoken to you last year when we completed 50 years, am talking again on the 51st year, in the coming festivals I wish you and your Company all the best and for having given me an opportunity I thank Mr Tom and his full team. Thank you very much.

Puneet Chhatwal

Thank you Mr. Bhagat. Our next speaker, last one.

Moderator

We have Mr. Bharat Raj Kankanala. Please go ahead.

Bharat Raj K

Very good morning Mr. Chairman. I thank the management and the entire Board of Directors to see everybody is fine, happy and healthy sir? First of all I congratulate the management for being strong in this pandemic also, taking care of our employees and entire team. In this AGM my question is any termination and any pay cut for the employees and second one is what is the difference in this licensed and leased option. Because we have three licenses and leased hotels, what is the difference and how you are sharing the profit. And every year in the physical AGM you used to provide a cake, please give instruction to Mr Anthony so that we will come and collect the cake at our hotel on any specific date for the shareholders who have participated, it will be more happy because we are habituated for that cake. I would be much happy if the

Chairman would be considerate and be liberal on this issue. Thanks for your coupons which you have provided, I’m very happy. In the coming years I wish our hotels will be wonderful, our revenue will be increased, I thank Mr Anthony for arranging wonderful VC. Entire Board of

Directors, take care, be healthy, be safe and be fine. I wish that next year we will meet in physical

AGM. Thank you very much.

Puneet Chhatwal

Thank you. Let me start by answering the questions before I start, Mr. Anthony, I think it would be fair for all the shareholders who have attended and have spoken today and raised the questions that post this AGM, we create a provision that they can collect the fruitcake from the hotels in the city that they're located in. I think that was raised by Mr. Saraf and Mr. Khankanala. I think that takes care of the cake part.

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Let me start with the first speaker Dr. Bopanna. You raised issues on infrastructure status for the industry. We have been lobbying with the government and especially with the upcoming 75th year of post-independent India. This industry must be positioned because, it's a huge upside, both on the GDP as well as on employment front, for India. Bur this is a decision that the

Parliament has to take, not only giving this tourism that infrastructure status, but also be inclusion in the component list of constitution and at State level, each of the states to grant industry status. So, some of the states we have achieved now in the last 12 months the industry status, we made a good start in Maharashtra, followed by Karnataka and those discussions are ongoing. I think it will be good for the country, because it will encourage growth and development of the business, but that's a political decision to be taken by the Center, but we are doing all our efforts that we can to get this.

Now coming to waiver of statutory obligations, it is also linked to what I just now said, it's a state-wise decision. In certain states, we got some waivers, but very few, mostly it is not being waived, which is sad because if the industry is under lockdown and you keep paying excise fees and property taxes or license fees, it's a bit unfair, especially if it's over a longer period of time, those discussions are ongoing. However, again, as I said, in certain states, like Maharashtra, we got kindness package, that means, hotels that had hosted the frontline workers, they were given certain waivers or excise fees was waived of 50%. But it's very little, but the efforts are ongoing and Maharashtra does not help Oriental Hotels because there is no property of Oriental Hotels here. So, this has not happened.

On the pent-up demand, of course we have seen and we all see the newspapers, television reporting that the moment we open up, people are driving to destinations. People are taking a break travel is a fundamental need. And, initially all the travel is going to stay domestic as was post first wave and second wave international borders continued to remain shut. So, there is indeed a lot of pent-up demand and the demand outlook is also beginning to change where people are using more, staycations and also using opportunity, to work from hotels and combine, the

‘Bizcation’ as they call it, business and vacations, are being combined.

Can we see some surprise that was another question you had raised also, in terms of demand. I think we are not waiting for surprises. Our RESET-2020 strategy is being continued and not only this is in at surviving through this very difficult phase of pandemic, but is also in, at the revival part. Eventually and many of you raised this question the outlook for the industry, the outlook for the industry was, is, and will remain positive as I said. As travel and doing business in-person is not going to go away. Certain demand patterns might change, but the outlook for the industry was and is that remains positive.

On how much power is generated through renewable energy. The Company entered in to power purchase agreements with private power producers in the wind segment for hotels in Tamil

Nadu. The total supply under power purchase agreements with private producers was about 88 lac units, out of total consumption of 114 lac units which resulted in savings of Rs. 1.8 crores approximately during the year. I think this was raised by different people, I think also by Ms.

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Francis, and some others in terms of what we have been able to achieve through the power savings possibilities.

On the Ginger brand, yes, we have redesigned, reimagined and repositioned the Ginger brand and this segment is gaining traction and is expected to grow significantly in future. We plan to also introduce Ginger, through the Oriental Hotels, in its markets. I think by next AGM, we should have some news on that front.

Your question on, opportunities for aspirational people regardless of humble beginnings they come from. Today's business ecosystem is very dynamic and we offer opportunities to all. The success of new revenue streams, or new brands such as Qmin, our Homestay brands of amã, our

Brewpub with 7Rivers, our Salon brand Niu & Nau stand testimony for this. There is no dearth of opportunities for people who are aspiring to grow in this business.

Your final question was in light of the inflation, what would be the P&L impact. It's a cause of worry in the short term and a significant worry because the rates are very subdued because of the collapse in demand. And, if the costs increase because of inflation, we will suffer even more.

However, I remain confident that the Government through its policies will do the needful to contain through monetary policy, through instruments available through interest rates, whatever other mechanisms that are possible to contain inflation or extraordinary inflation. Hopefully by that time, the demand will bounce back so that the impact can be mitigated. Ms. Indirani your question was the cost of annual report incurred in designing and printing the same, the COVID restrictions enabled us or in light of the COVID restrictions, we decided not to send physical copies of annual report. In line with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs circulars, the Annual

Report 2021 was sent only through electronic mode. The Company incurred an amount of Rs.

2.25 lakhs towards design and publication of the Annual Report in the current year. This is even less, I think, versus previous years, because we are not sending physical copies. The number of hotels you asked have reduced from nine to seven now and that IHCL is adding more hotels versus OHL. OHL is not in the business of management of hotels, as is the case with IHCL,

IHCL has been expanding its footprint to through the asset light model, through management contracts, having said so, the Board and Management of OHL continue to evaluate growth opportunities and shall pursue appropriate opportunities as and when they arise also to get in management contract business. We expect these opportunities to increase in the second half of this financial year, in light of many things that are changing and as the industry will strive towards a new balance in demand and supply situation.

Your question was, is there any possibility to increase the number of rooms in existing hotel properties and any plan in this selection. Most of the properties are in a good size I would say, there is no firm plan of adding new rooms. However, in certain hotels we have unconsumed FSI for further expansion, so depending on what I just mentioned, demand supply balance, we will review such opportunities.

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You had an interesting question on the occupancy average of 33%, but what was the highest in the year in rate and how much was the highest occupancy? So, lowest occupancy obviously was immediately post the lockdown announcement on 24th of March,. So, April witnessed the lowest occupancy of almost 2.6%. The hotel business in the months of April and May collapsed because it was a complete shutdown, except people were stuck in the property. We almost, landed up at a zero-revenue level. The highest occupancy was in the month of February at 62.2%. Lowest average rate was in July because, while hosting all this medical staff, frontline workers, quarantine guests, this was not a high rate business. So, in July the rate dropped to a little over

Rs. 3000 or approximately Rs. 3,200 to be precise. The highest was in January when we did a little more than Rs. 6,075.

With that, I come to the questions raised by Mr. Venkateshan. What is the average return on investment by the Company on its foreign investments till now, any plan to liquidate these investments or other non-performing assets to reduce or avoid further debt in the current scenario? I think Company is regularly getting dividend income and management fees on account of our foreign investments. Average return on foreign investment is 9.83% for last five years. There's no plan as of now to liquidate these investments as these are strategic in nature.

Your question on leverage, as the Company is highly leveraged, how do we ensure adequate liquidity for ongoing operation, some others also raised this question because if COVID was to get extended. What we can say today is, Company has sufficient liquidity and has made necessary arrangements for funding current or future obligations. At the end of the year, the

Company had the liquidity of Rs. 17 crores in cash and cash equivalents. It also had available and undrawn credit lines of Rs. 50 crores aggregating to a total liquidity position of approximately Rs. 70 crores. On the debt levels of the Company having increased compared to last year, though we monetized some of our hotel assets and liquidated debentures, the reasons for increase in debt levels on account of additional borrowings done during the year to meet liquidity requirements of the Company caused by severe impact of COVID-19 on Company's operations. I would request you to refer to page 125 and 126 of the Annual Report for further details and quantum of borrowings.

On what is the reason for the reversal of corporate tax of Rs. 2.57 crores referred on page 129, the Company had made provisions in the past pending completion of assessment the property taxes, the property tax assessment has been completed for past years in certain hotels. The excess of amount provided over and above assessed pertaining to previous years has been revised and accounted under other income.

After Mr. Venkateshan, we had Mr. Joe Polikan and your questions were, how are we going to reduce the pending tax disputes, any reduction in this regard during the year. The answer for that is, the tax disputes which are pending before various appellate authorities are likely to be decided in favor of the Company. However, considering the time period of the appeals pending and mainly costs also because of COVID-19, as there is not only they are in a lockdown in the industry, there's also a lockdown in offices, meetings and this delay is being very normal. The materiality of the amount under dispute, legal costs involved etc. the Company reviews these

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July 27, 2021 disputed taxes and opts for various amnesty schemes announced by the government from time to time. As an example, the Company opted for ‘Sabka Vishwas’ Legacy Dispute Resolution

Scheme, 2019. During the year 19-20, the amount really obtained was Rs. 1.08 crores. Also, we made application under ‘Vivaad Se Vishwas’ scheme and waiting for final approvals from the

Income Tax Department.

Then your question was how much is loss incurred due to perishable short shelf life items, as hotels were closed in the lockdown period, what are steps taken to reduce this loss in future?

The Company has taken adequate measures, including altering the procurement process for just in time to ensure there is no loss of account of expiry of food items on account of unexpected lockdowns due to COVID-19, Rs. 25 lakhs was the impact on account of expiry of food items due to the sudden imposition of lockdown restrictions only in the initial phase of outbreak of

COVID-19 last year.

Another question you had was, related to if the Company availed or benefited from any special schemes. I think I said it in the opening remarks that we are benefited as an industry from the

ECLGS, which is the emergency line credit and guarantee scheme and we are have availed working capital term loans under this scheme.

Why there is a sudden increase in share price, that was another question. Sudden and the steep increase in the share price of the Company. The trend shown in the share price of the Company is more or less in line with the market trend and also similar to the trend shown in the share price of other companies in the hospitality sector. Hospitality sector suffered serious reductions or a steep downward trend in share price, so that's why there is also a steep increase.

Moving on we had then Mr. Santosh Kumar Saraf. A few of your questions was similar to the other speakers, like steps taken by management to minimize impact and effect on business income. As I have said in the opening remarks, the RESET where R stands for ‘Revenue

Growth’, E for ‘Excellence and Operations’, S for ‘Spend Optimization’, the next E is for

‘Effective Asset Management’ and the T for being ‘Thrift, Frugal and Financially Prudent’ has helped the Company to mitigate the expenses and enhance the revenue to the extent possible. At the same time, we have been re-imagining our F&B offerings by extending into alternate revenue streams, which I also mentioned like hospitality at home by doing hampers for takeaway, by participating in the Qmin app, which is our food delivery platform, which has received tremendous response from our patrons and then innovating new business streams the Company continues to have a tight focus on cost. We have also achieved significant reduction in fixed costs by rationalization of manpower, renegotiating AMC contracts, pruning of services from outsourced vendors etc.

On CAPEX plan, management to increase growth and income of the Company, ongoing renovations are only façade strengthening at Taj Coromandel and balance rooms at the Gateway

Hotel Madurai. Apart from this, the Gateway Hotel Mangalore is being renovated by the lessor or the landlord. The other planned renovations have been temporarily suspended because we

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July 27, 2021 have to protect our cash and the Company will take appropriate calls based on improvement in overall business scenario.

On your cake, obviously I addressed it. Then the percentage of employees and the families were vaccinated, as Company reimbursed the money paid for vaccine by employees. I clearly state that all eligible associates, including our contractual workforce have been administered the first or have been provided with the first dosage of vaccine. 38% of them have also received the second dosage based on respective due dates. Further 500 plus family members also benefited through the vaccination drive, no amount was incurred or paid for vaccination by the associates.

Then, the steps taken for water consumption and transform units to consumed renewable energy like solar and wind power to attain carbon neutral status at the earliest. Here, we can say that the hotel units have systems for rainwater harvesting and treating drain water for gardening. Further waste for hotels are avoided from landfills through suitable waste management system. More details I would request you see under the environmental initiatives of the Company as are available on page 26 to 28 of the Annual Report. On the solar power panel roof of hotels and offices will reduce cost of power. As of now we don't have any such plan. However, we have entered into an arrangement with solar power produced under group captive scheme. We will see those results, in due course.

Mr. Manoj Kumar Gupta, your questions was impact of COVID on hospitality industry and steps taken. I think this is being mentioned like the 1000 crores loss in revenue, steps is all set out in the RESET strategy and key promotions which are very well explained. On CAPEX plan also,

I've just now mentioned except for Coromandel not anything else has been planned.

Then steps taken for reducing unclaimed dividends. The Company is taking all effective steps to communicate the shareholders about the unclaimed dividend through post and available medium of communication. A periodic reminder has been sent to shareholders about unclaimed dividends. In addition, the unclaimed dividend details are uploaded in the Company website as the dividend remaining unclaimed for more than seven years need to be transferred to Investor

Education and Protection Fund, in short IEPF. An intimation is sent to shareholders in advance about any such transfer.

Then we come to Ms. Annmaria Francis. Again, your question on increasing revenues well defined under the research strategy. CSR activities I think, we also mentioned, to refer to the annual report, but in addition to that, I can say as part of supporting communities during COVID-

19 pandemic, the Company took various initiatives, such as conducting awareness sessions at elderly home, located near the Gateway Hotel, Madurai and distributed masks, sanitizers, PPE kits etc. to senior citizens. The Company also served meals through its hotel unit in Coimbatore to doctors of ESI hospital who were treating COVID-19 patients. Further during the lockdown period, some of our hotels were operating partially for the benefit of quarantine travelers and extended support to medical practitioners frontline workers. I'm sure you must have heard some

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July 27, 2021 of the hotels were also temporarily prepared to be turned into a temporary hospital if we had ran out of beds in any given city. So, we were prepared to help on that front too.

How much the Company saved due to usage of renewable power. I think this also, we have answered already, but I'll just say again, with private producers it was 88 lac units out of total consumption of 114 lac units, which resulted in savings of Rs. 1.8 crores. I think I answered that before.

Then the safety precautions implemented by the Company for the safety of employees and guests in the prevailing situation. This has been a part of the RESET strategy. The Indian Hotels

Company Limited group has always been synonymous with safety and hygiene. We believe the best way for us to demonstrate our commitment is to give our guests and associates the assurance of standards of safety and hygiene. We launched a program which, all hotels embraced, which is called Tajness, “A Commitment Restrengthened”. It's a very large document, which was provided to all the hotels, using our brands and basically it laid down the protocol of all the policies, procedures in line with the Ministry of Health directive, plus the WHO guidelines plus our own. So, we took that standard even to a higher level. We also implemented I-ZEST, which is our enhanced precautionary measures at every guest touch point, right from the moment guest sets foot in the hotel car. These new digital led contactless processes and social distancing measures ensure safety and hygiene for both guests, as well as employees. Apart from this, many other new programs are being developed to continuously take our safety and hygiene levels for associates and guests, to the highest level.

With that I come to the questions or Mr. Gyaneshwar Bhagat, which was, I think you asked camp for vaccination, if yes, when it was held. I think number of employees, yes we have already said

100% of our employees have been vaccinated. To this effect we tied up with local government agencies, hospitals and larger Tata ecosystem to ensure all employees get vaccinated.

Vaccination drives have been conducted in different cities and the facility has been extended to family members as well. All eligible associates, including our contractual workforce have been administered with the first dosage of vaccine. As I mentioned earlier, 38% have also got the second and 500 plus family members have also been provided vaccination.

What was the office strength in COVID-19, how much employee are working from home, the strength of hotel staff was within the permissible limit in the guidelines issued by the respective state governments during the lockdown period. Key learnings from COVID-19 yes, that we have to be better prepared in any industry, including in hospitality for such an event. The rest has been well explained under the RESET strategy in my opening remarks and while answering the previous questions.

Mr. Rangwala asked if anybody was affected in COVID, yes we had 189 associates were infected by COVID-19 and all our associates have recovered. There has been no, fatality or death cases of our associates on account of COVID-19.

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Mr. Khankana, any termination of associates, no permanent associates were terminated on account of pandemic. So, no permanent employee lost job because of pandemic. The lunch dinner was not provided, the promise could not be fulfilled because of COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed. However, the promise made will definitely be honored at an appropriate time. So, this is just a delay because of the circumstances, but we will come back to you in due course for the lunch or dinner or whatever the majority would want.

What is the arrangement for leased hotels, Taj Malabar, Vivanta Coimbatore, Gateway Madurai and Gateway Hotel Mangalore are part of leased hotels portfolio. Lease fees, a combination of a fixed and variable lease rent based on wealth total revenue.

We had some questions from Mr. Abhishek, a lot of questions, how many employees you have sacked, hired and salary cut. As explained, we have not sacked any permanent associate. We implemented and I think this is a good time to mention that the Voluntary Contribution Scheme for Executives beyond the certain salary threshold, all the above salary threshold contributed without exception. The salary contribution was in the range of 20 to 30% across various levels, which, we used as monies as Taj for family initiative in providing help to any of the contractual or other workers who were directly associated or even indirectly associated with us to help them out. Like an employee of a contractor, if it's a contractual service of a limousine Company, then it could have been a driver working for that Company. We all pooled in monies to help such people out and provided them, what was allowed under the law through the trust business.

What is the real impact of COVID-19 in terms of, percentage, how our chain was affected. The revenue, as we said, has decreased by 59% in comparison to 19-20 on standalone basis for OHL.

If we see light at the end of the tunnel and what will be the triggers in first half that I said that triggers remain domestic demand only and it is very difficult to forecast a scenario. A lot is dependent, whether there'll be a third, a fourth wave or not. If there is a third or fourth wave how fast will we bounce back, one thing is clear that the second wave was very devastating in the country, but the bounce back period was much shorter than after the first wave. So, we cannot predict or look into this crystal ball. The positive change, however, is the discovery of the vaccine and business will keep on increasing steadily as it has a direct correlation with the number of people vaccinated and as the vaccination drive keeps gaining momentum.

On details of parties and other current and non-current liabilities or contingent liabilities and if our Company Secretary can arrange a video call, our legal head to learn the perspective in detail, in this regard please feel free to contact Company Secretary for any further details.

What are the credentials that the new and existing directors are bringing on the table to take the

Company to the next phase of growth and drive to the new generation. Is the appointment being done after checking all the new amendments under Clause 49. Here we can state the skills and expertise of each of the Directors is mentioned in page number 69 of the Annual Report. All the applicable provisions of law has been followed while making appointment of Directors.

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July 27, 2021

What are the management efforts to reduce other expenses, legal professional charges and audit fees, as part of the spend optimization or client under reset strategy? The professional fees has come down from Rs. 5.1 crores in previous years to Rs. 3.9 crores in current year, overall audit fees come down from Rs. 50.73 lakhs in previous year to Rs. 45.87 lakhs in current year. What is the cost cutting initiatives done by the management mentioned that already covered in other questions. Suggest the management to improve Company image to investor relation exercise, like con-call, a quarterly presentation and meeting global investors. We welcome your recommendations on this and the Company issues press release every quarter, capture key highlights, but yes, we will consider doing con-calls and other investor meetings in the future.

What are management in efforts to improve working capital to sales ratio, ROCE, net debt to

EBITDA multiple, OPM database and interest coverage ratios. All ratios are expected to improve upon resurgence of business. I think as the business improves; all the ratios will improve. They have taken a severe beating for the sector, both at a global level as well as at the national level.

As mentioned also by few of the speaker shareholders, that our industry has been unilaterally shut down and a lot of the countries of the world, including India for several months.

What is the policy related to dividend in our Company as most of the senior citizens only depend on that? Policy on dividend I can say is governed by the Dividend Distribution Policy adopted by the Company and details are available on page 74 of the Annual Report.

On your further question on current top 300 share orders, please contact the Company Secretary

Mr. Tom Anthony.

A detailed power point is further expected and on a discussion with management, as we just want to learn and understand industry dynamics. This request has been noted Mr. Abhishek, The

MDA section in Annual Report provides insights into the Company's business and industry dynamics.

Do you and your team are running a legal firm in the name and style of 7 Wells Associates in

Chennai, we also request, to kindly involve your firm in the empanelment of the Company. You may also contact the Company's secretary on this and how to take this forward.

Your final the question was cake boxes or cake coupons. For the current year, we have doubled the amount Rs. 5000 to Rs. 10,000 for the discount and the provision of cake has already been provided. So, with that I have answered all the questions.

Now I authorize the Company Secretary to conduct the voting procedure and conclude the meeting. The e-voting facility will remain open for the next 15 minutes to enable members to cast their vote. The results would be announced within two working days of the conclusion of this meeting and the same would be intimated to the Stock Exchanges and uploaded on the website of the Company and NSDL. I thank the shareholders for attending the meeting and for their continued support. I also thank the Directors for joining the meeting remotely.

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With your consent, I and the other Board Members would like to leave the meeting. I request all shareholders to please stay safe and stay healthy. Over to you Mr Tom Anthony.

Moderator

Mr. Anthony, please unmute your microphone and your webcam.

Tom Anthony

Thank you Chairman. We request all members who have not casted their vote to cast their vote

Tom Anthony

The e-voting has been kept open for 15 minutes as mentioned by the Chairman. We now close the e-voting. I would like to say that the requisite quorum was present throughout the meeting.

Results of the Annual General Meeting will be announced by the Company within 48 hours of the conclusion of the meeting. With this, I declare the meeting concluded. Thank you.

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