Lemon Tree Hotels Limited (LEMONTREE)
Large CapConsumer stocks · Large cap · NSE
Lemon Tree Hotels Limited (LTHL) is a major Indian hotel chain operating across upscale, upper-midscale, midscale, and economy segments with seven brands. It manages 131 operational hotels in 80+ cities, including international markets, and has a pipeline of 137 upcoming properties.
One read, four checks
75+ is strong, 60-74 is usable, 45-59 is mixed, and below 45 needs caution. These are research lenses, not buy/sell instructions.
Weak fundamentals, management trust is acceptable, price trend argues for patience, and recent execution is consistent.
Fundamental lens: valuation, quality, growth, balance sheet, and cash flow.
low confidence · 0/0 claims checked
Timing lens: price trend and sector relative strength.
Rolling lens: recent quarterly delivery, not the latest single-result score.
Quarter ended 30 Jun 2026
Average · 37/100margin compression · Rev +9% YoY · PAT +19% YoY · operating leverage
| Metric | This quarter | YoY | QoQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹345 Cr | +9.2% | -17.1% |
| EBITDA | ₹149 Cr | +6.4% | -30.7% |
| Operating margin | 43.0% | -100 bps | -900 bps |
| PAT | ₹57 Cr | +18.8% | -50.9% |
| PAT margin | 16.5% | +133 bps | -1136 bps |
NDF means not disclosed in the current structured filing feed. It is intentionally not treated as zero.
Business & thesis
Growth engines, tailwinds/headwinds, and risk radar from management commentary
Business & thesis
Growth engines, tailwinds/headwinds, and risk radar from management commentary
Where growth can come from, and what can break the case
Lemon Tree Hotels reports best-ever FY26 and Q4 FY26 performance across key metrics including Revenue, EBITDA, PAT, Occupancy (73.5% FY26, 78.5% Q4), and ARR (₹6,875 FY26, ₹7,457 Q4), despite margin contraction due to renovation, GST, and tech investments.
LTHL delivered record financial and operational results for FY26 and Q4, driven by strong demand. While margins contracted due to renovation, GST, and tech investments, management expects these impacts to reduce by FY28. The asset-light expansion, debt reduction, and proposed value-accretive restructuring are positive.
Room Revenue by Market Segment (Q4 FY26, Owned Hotels)
Latest issuer-disclosed distribution across 2 reported categories.
Asset-Light Expansion
Rapidly growing managed/franchised hotels pipeline of ~13,300 rooms, with 10,000 rooms owned by 3rd parties and 3,300 by Fleur.
Premiumization Strategy
Future supply is planned under the upper upscale Aurika brand, which has higher ARR and GOP margins, elevating the group profile.
Favorable Market Dynamics
Indian hospitality market demand consistently outpacing supply in the mid-market segment where the company operates.
Strategic Restructuring
Demerger creates two focused platforms: Lemon Tree as asset-light operator and Fleur as asset owner, enhancing capital efficiency and valuation transparency.
Aurika, Shimla
91 owned rooms, expected opening FY27.
Aurika, Shillong
165 leased rooms, expected opening FY28.
Aurika, Nehru Place, Delhi
572 leased rooms, expected opening FY30.
Aurika, Varanasi
47 leased rooms, expected opening FY30.
Favorable Structural Position
Indian hospitality market is in a favorable structural position with demand consistently outpacing supply in the mid-market segment.
Rising Customer Inflows
Rising air traffic drives higher customer inflows, and growing office demand drives business travel and corporate hotel demand.
Debt Reduction
Total borrowings reduced to ₹1,500 crores from ₹1,699 crores YoY, and cost of debt fell by 115 bps to 7.42%.
Global Headwinds
Intermittent global headwinds including renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and aviation disruptions.
GST Changes
GST-related change had a half-year impact in FY26 and will have a full-year impact going forward, affecting margins.
Renovation Expenditure
Significant step-up in renovation expenditure to upgrade owned hotel portfolio impacted FY26 margins by 580 bps.
Technology Investments
Investments in technology also contributed to margin contraction in FY26.
Execution Risk of Pipeline
Timely execution and ramp-up of the significant pipeline of 10,770 upcoming rooms across 137 hotels is crucial.
Sustained Margin Pressure
Failure to reduce renovation, technology, and GST impacts to ~3.7% of revenue by FY28 could sustain margin pressure.
Economic & Geopolitical Volatility
Changes in political and economic environment in India and overseas, including geopolitical tensions, could affect operations.
Regulatory & Legal Risks
Changes in tax laws, import duties, litigation, and labor relations could impact the company's operations.
Management accountability
What management said, and what results must prove
Management accountability
What management said, and what results must prove
What management said, and what results must prove
Issuer guidance and extracted claims are tracked against later reported outcomes. Treat these as management statements, not IndiaPulse forecasts.
Q4 results show sequential momentum in occupancy and cash profit, while full-year (FY26) results provide a comprehensive view of annual performance and are less affected by seasonality.
Occupancy Rate (Owned/Leased Hotels)
FY26: 73.5% (up 186 bps YoY); Q4 FY26: 78.5% (up 96 bps YoY).
Gross Average Room Rate (Owned/Leased Hotels)
FY26: ₹6,875 (up 8% YoY); Q4 FY26: ₹7,457 (up 6% YoY).
Net EBITDA Margin
UNDER_STRESSFY26: 48.1% (down 126 bps YoY); Q4 FY26: 52.0% (down 198 bps YoY).
Managed & Franchised Rooms Opened
20 hotels with 1,523 rooms opened in FY26.
Best-Ever Performance
Executive Chairman states FY26 was the best year in Lemon Tree's history across Occupancy, ARR, Revenue, EBITDA, PBT, PAT, and Cash Profit.
Margin Improvement Outlook
Management expects renovation, technology, and GST expense heads to reduce to ~3.7% of revenue by FY28, leading to EBITDA margin expansion.
Aurika Brand Focus
All current future supply is being planned under the upper upscale Aurika brand, which remains largely unaffected by GST changes.
Favorable Market Dynamics
Management believes the Indian hospitality market is in a favorable structural position with demand consistently outpacing supply in the mid-market segment.
Numbers and claims to verify in the next filings
| Checkpoint | Current evidence | What to verify next |
|---|---|---|
| Net EBITDA Margin | 48.1% (FY26) | Improvement towards pre-FY26 levels as renovation, tech, and GST impacts reduce to ~3.7% of revenue by FY28. |
| Managed & Franchised Rooms (Operational) | 6,052 rooms (FY26) | Continued strong growth in new openings and signings, indicating successful asset-light expansion. |
| Cost of Borrowing | 7.42% (as of March 31, 2026) | Further reduction in borrowing costs and total debt, improving financial efficiency. |
| Aurika Pipeline Progress | 4 hotels, 875 rooms under development | Timely commissioning and ramp-up of these higher-margin properties, contributing to premiumization. |
Verification checkpoints are IndiaPulse research interpretation, not investment advice.
Trend score and candlestick chart
29Bearishfull bear SMA stack · SMA20 -3.5% / mo · MACD − · near 52W low
Technical chart
LEMONTREEdaily · 1Y · AUTO-6.5%Daily technical trend read
Bearish setupTrend is weak — long-term trend down. RSI 33.
- Price < SMA20 < SMA50 < SMA200 — full bearish stack.
- SMA20 falling (~3.7% over last month) — short-term momentum negative.
- RSI(14) at 33 — falling, no extreme reading.
- MACD below signal, histogram expanding negatively — bearish momentum building.
- 42% off 52W high · 5% above 52W low.
Mechanical read from the price + indicator series above. Not a recommendation — technical setups can reverse without warning, especially around earnings and macro events.
Relative Strength & Trend Stage
- Price is 7.2% below the 30-week proxy.
- The 50-DMA is below the 30-week proxy and its slope is falling -2.9%.
- Both 3-month and 6-month returns are negative.
Valuation & score drivers
U-Score 43 · WATCHLIST · pillar breakdown, sector model, fair-value anchor
Valuation & score drivers
U-Score 43 · WATCHLIST · pillar breakdown, sector model, fair-value anchor
Fundamental score breakdown
WATCHLISTWhy this score?
Top U-Score contributors and drags from the latest stored fundamentals.
Positive drivers
- FCF yield is supportive at 4.5%.
- Piotroski is strong at 7/9.
- Growth contributes 18/25 to the score.
Main drags
- Fair-value margin of safety is negative at -1.5%.
- Valuation is weaker at 0/30; verify the latest quarterly trend.
- Balance sheet is weaker at 0/15; verify the latest quarterly trend.
Consumer valuation: PE/PEG and brand-quality premium
Consumer franchises can deserve higher multiples, but only when growth quality supports them.
Stored run vs live recompute
This shows the stored score trend when snapshots exist, and also compares the latest stored nightly score with a live recompute from current fundamentals and price.
Score history
12 stored score snapshots. Latest stored move: +0 points.
Factor attribution
Modelled fair value
Trust score
Does management behaviour match later outcomes? Claim delivery, forensic breakdown, evidence depth
Trust score
Does management behaviour match later outcomes? Claim delivery, forensic breakdown, evidence depth
Trust asks: does management behaviour match later outcomes? Higher is better, but confidence and evidence depth matter as much as the number.
Healthy Trust: Claim history is still being built. It ranks around the 66th percentile of the scored universe and 69th percentile within Consumer. Main check: balance sheet trust is weak at 53/100.
Healthy Trust Lite: Promoter pledge is zero. Key concern: Promoter holding is only 22.3%.
Generally investable credibility. Look for weak sub-scores before increasing position size.
overall median 67 · Consumer: 69th pctile, median 66 · Large: 43rd pctile, median 73
166 documents have extracted text, but claim history is not strong enough yet.
0 claims extracted · No contradicted claim yet
How to read this Trust Score
Healthy Trust · low confidenceRead Trust alongside U-Score, result consistency, and technical trend. A cheap stock with weak Trust needs a larger margin of safety; a high Trust score does not make an expensive stock attractive by itself.
Forensic breakdown
Read low sub-scores as due-diligence warnings, not automatic sell signals.
Trust positives
- ▸Promoter pledge is zero.
- ▸FCF yield is positive at 4.5%.
- ▸5 years of positive FCF.
- ▸4/4 latest quarters had positive YoY revenue growth.
Trust risks
- ▸Promoter holding is only 22.3%.
- ▸Debt/equity is 1.54.
Trust Lite uses financial behaviour only. Prefer claim-tested Trust when enough concall claims have later outcomes.
Financials
Full fundamentals table and 10-year revenue / profit / ROE history
Financials
Full fundamentals table and 10-year revenue / profit / ROE history
Fundamentals
Valuation
- P/E
- 32.50
- P/B
- 5.97
- EV/EBITDA
- 12.46
- Market Cap
- 8315.00Cr
Profitability
- ROE
- 19.40%
- ROCE
- 14.00%
- ROA
- 6.95%
- Dividend Y
- —
Growth (CAGR)
- Revenue 5Y
- 42.00%
- EPS 5Y
- 32.00%
- Revenue 3Y
- 18.00%
- EPS 3Y
- 29.00%
Balance Sheet
- Debt/Equity
- 1.54
- Interest Coverage
- 4.40×
- Altman Z
- 2.92
- Book Value
- 17.60
Cash Flow
- FCF Yield
- 4.49%
- FCF Positive Y
- 5/5
- OCF
- 542.00 Cr
- EPS TTM
- 2.96
Shareholding
- Promoter Hold
- 22.32%
- Promoter Pledge
- 0.00%
- Momentum 52W
- 7%
Financial History
Updated 5/9/2026
Revenue
₹ CrNet Profit
₹ CrReturn on Equity
%Peers
Business-comparable names in Consumer, ranked by similarity
Peers
Business-comparable names in Consumer, ranked by similarity
Peers
Business-comparable peers in Consumer — ranked by industry, sub-sector, theme-tag overlap, market cap, and U-Score similarity. Green cells mark the best available peer metric in this table.