Oyo in talks with 'multiple firms' to refinance its $660mn loan

NEW DELHI: Global hospitality technology major OYO Hotels is considering refinancing its $660 million loan and is currently in touch with "multiple organisations" including Apollo Global Management Inc, reliable sources said on Thursday.

The move by Oravel Stays Pvt Ltd, the parent company of Oyo, is to reduce debt and scout for "cheaper financing options" in order to save more, sources told IANS.

In a statement, a company spokesperson said that "since our consistent increase in profits, we regularly get approached for cheaper financing options".

However, the "Board hasn't approved anything, including prepaying some portion", the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, OYO is set to report its first-ever profit after tax at Rs 16 crore in the second quarter of FY24.

In a letter to the company's top management, seen by IANS, OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal shared that Q2 FY2024 will mark the company's maiden profitable quarter with a projected profit after tax (PAT) of over Rs 16 crore.

Congratulating his team on OYO completing 10 years, Agarwal wrote: "As per the current trajectory in this quarter, Q2 FY24 will mark our maiden profitable quarter with a projected profit after tax of over Rs 16 crore."

He said that the revenue from operations stood at Rs 5,463 crore in FY23, up from Rs 4,781 crore in FY22, marking a 14 per cent increase.

"We also narrowed our losses to Rs 1,286 crore. Our Adjusted Gross Profit Margin rose to 43 per cent of revenue and Adjusted Gross Profit increased by 23 per cent to Rs 2,347 crore in FY23 from Rs 1,915 crore in FY22," Agarwal wrote.

The overall Gross Booking Value (GBV) increased by 25 per cent reaching the Rs 10,000 crore milestone in FY23.

OYO has also published its Annual Accounts for FY2023. It has achieved operational profitability in FY2023, clocking an Adjusted EBITDA of Rs 277 crore.

Recently, global ratings agency Moody's shared that it expects OYO to remain EBITDA positive for FY24.