NSE: LEMONTREE · BSE: 541233
LEMON TREE HOTELS LTD
Operates a multi-brand hotel chain in India spanning economy to upscale segments — brands include Keys Lite, Keys Select, Keys Prima, Lemon Tree and Aurika — earning revenue primarily through asset-light structures: license/management agreements run by subsidiary Carnation Hotels and franchise agreements, rather than owning real estate directly. As of mid-2026, the group runs 130+ operational hotels across 80+ Indian cities with 140+ more in the pipeline, and a total portfolio of 270+ properties including international locations in Nepal, Bhutan and Dubai. FY26 revenue stood at ₹1,444.5 crore with an EBITDA margin of 46.1% and net profit of ₹288.3 crore. The cost base is dominated by employee costs at 16.6% of revenue and other operating expenses at 29.7%, while materials are just 5.9% — typical of a service business; depreciation at 9.6% of revenue indicates some owned assets alongside the managed/franchised model. Recent portfolio activity has been active on both sides, with new license signings across Nepal, Assam, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, partly offset by terminations in Erode, Kanha and Hubli and a de-flagging of the Dubai property. Its material subsidiary Fleur Hotels secured a 1-year extension on its DDA award to develop and operate a 5-star Aurika hotel on a 2.256-acre site at Nehru Place in New Delhi. AR · MarketPing reader · 2026-08-02
Revenue streams, as the annual report describes them. Licensed and managed hotels, Franchised hotels, Owned hotel operations. Asset-light, multi-brand hotel chain operating primarily through license, management and franchise contracts with selective owned-asset exposure.
Exhibit 1: Financial summary, FY22–FY26 (all audited; no estimate years)
| ₹ crore · consolidated | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 402 | 875 | 1,071 | 1,286 | 1,445 |
| EBITDA (ex other income) | 119 | 448 | 523 | 634 | 658 |
| margin % | 29.5 | 51.2 | 48.8 | 49.3 | 45.5 |
| Owners' profit | (87) | 115 | 148 | 197 | 227 |
| EPS, as reported (₹) | (1.11) | 1.45 | 1.88 | 2.48 | 2.87 |
| ROE % · ROCE % | (9.8) · 0.8 | 9.9 · 10.5 | 11.8 · 11.3 | 13.6 · 13.3 | 13.9 · 13.4 |
| Debt / equity (x) | 1.52 | 1.54 | 1.22 | 1.20 | 0.96 |
| Cash from operations | 135 | 385 | 465 | 542 | 542 |
| Capex | (68) | (162) | (331) | (96) | (138) |
Exhibit 2: Quarterly performance, last 8 quarters
| ₹ crore | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | Q3 FY26 | Q4 FY26 | Q1 FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 284 | 355 | 379 | 316 | 306 | 406 | 416 | 345 |
| Profit before tax | 45 | 99 | 123 | 63 | 56 | 99 | 142 | 79 |
| Net profit | 35 | 80 | 108 | 48 | 42 | 82 | 116 | 57 |
| EPS (₹) | 0.37 | 0.79 | 1.07 | 0.48 | 0.44 | 0.79 | 1.16 | 0.58 |
Exhibit 3: Peers — basic industry group, by market cap
| Company | M.cap ₹ cr | P/E | P/B | EV/EBITDA | ROE % | ROCE % | Rev CAGR 5y % | EBITDA m. % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE INDIAN HOTELS CO. LTD | 1,14,612 | 53.4 | 7.67 | 30.4 | 15.0 | 16.2 | 43.8 | 32.2 |
| ITC HOTELS LIMITED | 34,265 | 39.5 | 2.93 | 22.3 | 7.0 | 9.0 | — | 37.5 |
| LEELA PALACES HOTEL LTD | 20,355 | 33.6 | 3.15 | 27.0 | 6.2 | 5.9 | — | 43.2 |
| EIH LIMITED | 18,260 | 25.7 | 3.38 | 17.1 | 12.2 | 14.9 | 42.7 | 31.6 |
| CHALET HOTELS LIMITED | 17,481 | 33.1 | 4.73 | 16.0 | 17.4 | 13.6 | 56.6 | 45.5 |
| VENTIVE HOSPITALITY LTD | 12,684 | 26.4 | 1.88 | 11.2 | 7.4 | 7.4 | — | 37.7 |
| LEMON TREE HOTELS LTD ◆ | 8,500 | 36.1 | 4.09 | 15.7 | 13.9 | 9.2 | 41.8 | 44.1 |
| INDIA TOUR. DEV. CO. LTD. | 5,172 | 63.1 | 12.59 | 42.2 | 20.0 | 26.6 | 24.7 | 17.2 |
Exhibit 4: Where the company sits in its group
| Metric | Company | Group median | Rank | Better than |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E (TTM) | 36.1 | 25.7 | 41 of 57 | 29% |
| P/B | 4.1 | 1.6 | 48 of 57 | 16% |
| ROCE | 9.2 | 4.9 | 16 of 65 | 77% |
| ROE | 13.9 | 6.3 | 13 of 57 | 79% |
| Debt / Equity | 1.0 | 0.2 | 46 of 57 | 20% |
| EBITDA margin | 44.1 | 29.5 | 15 of 58 | 75% |
| Revenue growth | 9.1 | 7.6 | 27 of 58 | 54% |
| Profit growth | 19.2 | 11.6 | 25 of 55 | 56% |
| Market cap | 8500 | 246 | 7 of 66 | 91% |
Exhibit 5: Filings of the last 90 days, with the measured price reaction
| Date · filing | Category | Importance | Next day % | 5-day % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 2026 · Lemon Tree Hotels signs agreement for 76-room hotel in Sirhind | compliance | low | — | — |
| 23 Oct 2026 · Lemon Tree signs 63-room Keys Lite hotel in Bhilwara | compliance | low | — | — |
| 16 Oct 2026 · Lemon Tree subsidiary gets partial relief in GST appeal | business updates | medium | — | — |
| 16 Oct 2026 · Lemon Tree signs MOU with Omaxe to operate about 4,000 hotel keys | strategic transactions | high | — | — |
| 13 Oct 2026 · Lemon Tree Hotels signs new franchise property in Bareilly | business updates | medium | — | — |
| 9 Oct 2026 · ESOP trust deed modified, two trustees replaced | general | low | — | — |
| 8 Oct 2026 · Lemon Tree Hotels subsidiary wins CGST appeal, demand set aside | business updates | high | — | — |
| 8 Oct 2026 · Routine RTA certificate for demat requests filed with exchanges | compliance | minimal | — | — |
| 30 Sept 2026 · Lemon Tree Hotels opens 65-room Keys Prima property in Darjeeling | business updates | medium | — | — |
| 25 Sept 2026 · Lemon Tree Hotels opens 71-key Lemon Tree Resort in Nashik | business updates | medium | — | — |
How to read this document
| Where a broker report shows | This document shows | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A rating (BUY / ADD / REDUCE / SELL) | A state: the latest filed quarter and the measured reactions | an event is a fact; a rating is an opinion that requires SEBI RA registration |
| A target price and upside | The current price and the multiples against the group | a target is a forecast; a multiple is a measurement |
| Estimate years marked E | More audited years; no estimates | MarketPing publishes no forecasts — your own model lives on the Models page |
Sources, method and disclosures
This document is a statistical summary of publicly filed information and market data, prepared by software from primary sources: SEBI results XBRL filed with BSE and NSE, LODR disclosures, shareholding patterns, exchange price data. It contains no research recommendation, no price target and no opinion on the merits of any security, and is not a research report within the meaning of the SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014, Regulation 2(1)(w)(vii). Financial statements are as filed (consolidated where the company files consolidated results). Ratios are computed over filed lines. Where a figure is unavailable the table shows a dash rather than an estimate. The business brief is written by MarketPing's reader from the annual report and checked against it; no figure in a table was generated by a model. Nothing here constitutes investment advice, an offer or a solicitation; readers should consult a SEBI-registered adviser before acting. MarketPing is not a SEBI-registered intermediary.