Sterling Delivers Record FY26 Performance with Highest-Ever Q4 Revenue, Strong Profitability & Accelerated Expansion
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• Best-ever Q4 Performance - Revenue at ₹1,409 Mn, up 14% YOY
• 25th Consecutive Profitable Quarter – reinforcing Sterling’s disciplined growth model
• Crosses Milestone of 78 Resorts & 3,800+ Rooms across India
• Resort-led growth, operating leverage and strong cash generation drive momentum
• Entering next phase of accelerated value creation with stronger scale, profitability & cash flows
Chennai, May 2026: Sterling Holiday Resorts Ltd., one of India’s leading hospitality companies, reported a record Q4 FY26, delivering the best-ever Q4 Revenue, EBITDA and Profit Before Tax (PBT), while extending its profitable streak to 25 consecutive quarters.
For Q4 FY26, Sterling posted Total Revenue of ₹1,409 million, reflecting a 14% year-on-year (YOY) growth, while EBITDA stood at ₹348 million (10% YOY growth) and PBT at ₹206 million. The company maintained healthy EBITDA margins of 25% despite continued investments in expansion, technology and customer experience enhancements.
For the full year FY26, Sterling reported Revenue of ₹5,487 million and EBITDA of ₹1,701 million while maintaining a healthy EBITDA margin of 31%. PBT stood at ₹1,142 million for the year.
FY2025-26 marks a defining year for Sterling — a decisive inflection point where scale, profitability and balance sheet strength expanded simultaneously and not sequentially. Sterling is now operating at a sweet spot of scale, where incremental growth is increasingly margin and cash accretive.
The resort business is the key engine driving Sterling’s growth, clearly demonstrating the success of the company’s strategic transformation towards a focused hospitality-led operating model.
Sterling’s resort business grew strongly during FY26:
• Resort Revenue grew 15% YOY to ₹4,678 million
• Room Revenue increased 21% YOY
• F&B Revenue grew 14% YOY
• Resort Revenue now contributes 85% of total revenue compared to 79% last year
During Q4 FY26:
• Room Revenue grew nearly 40% to ₹672 million
• Occupancy improved to 64% - up from 58% last year
• ARR increased 12% to ₹6,347
• Total RevPAR increased 16% despite a 20% increase in room inventory
With two record quarters, H2 revenues outperformed H1 by 21%.
Sterling crossed the milestone of 78 resorts, hotels and retreats across 65 destinations, and over 3,800 rooms during FY26, adding nearly 1.5 resorts per month and 31 resorts over the last 24 months.
The company expects to cross 95 resorts and 4,500 rooms in 2027 with more than 20 sign-ups in the pipeline. Sterling remains focused on high-growth Tier 2 and Tier 3 business-cum-leisure corridors.
Sterling continues to maintain a completely debt-free balance sheet with cash reserves growing at a multi-year CAGR of 55% to nearly ₹3,400 million. Operating Free Cash Flow grew 49% year-on-year to ₹1,140 million.
Delivering high growth with strong capital discipline remains a rare and differentiated combination within the hospitality sector.
Sterling continued to strengthen its customer proposition and operating capabilities during the year:
• 30 resorts and 11 restaurants earned TripAdvisor Excellence Awards
• Sterling Kanha and The Doon Diner at Sterling Mussoorie received “Best of the Best” recognition, placing them among the top 1% globally in their category
• Sterling further strengthened governance frameworks and scalable operating systems
• Sterling ONE, the company’s proprietary digital platform powered by Distributed Ledger Technology and AI, now provides direct access to over 7,000 travel partners and 360 corporates
Commenting on the performance, Mr. Vikram Lalvani, Managing Director & CEO, said:
“Q4 FY26 was a record-breaking quarter across all key operating and financial metrics. Sterling delivered its best-ever Q4 Revenue, EBITDA and Profit Before Tax while completing its 25th consecutive profitable quarter.
FY26 has been a defining year for Sterling. We have delivered record revenues, sustained profitability, expanded our resort footprint aggressively and strengthened our balance sheet — all while remaining debt-free.
India’s domestic leisure travel opportunity remains extremely strong and Sterling is well-positioned to capitalize on this opportunity through our expanding network, stronger brand proposition, digital capabilities and customer-centric operating model.”
Awards & Recognitions
• Today’s Traveller Awards 2025: Sterling Holiday Resorts – Fastest Growing Hospitality Brand / Hotel Chain
• TripAdvisor:
Sterling Kanha: TripAdvisor “Best of the Best” (3rd consecutive year)
30 Resorts, including 10 for the 3rd time in a row: TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards
The Doon Diner (at Sterling Mussoorie): TripAdvisor “Best of the Best” – Dining
10 restaurants across Sterling resorts: TripAdvisor “Travellers Choice Awards” – Dining
• 2025 CMO Asia – Odisha Leadership Awards: Sterling Puri – Best Family Resort of the Year
• RCI Green Awards (14th edition): Sterling Munnar – Gold – 14th RCI Green Awards
• Agoda.com: Sterling Kodai Lake – Agoda Gold Circle Award 2025
• Booking.com: 33 Resorts – Traveller Review Award 2025
• Hospitality Horizon + NDTV Profit:
Sterling Jaisinghgarh Udaipur – Boutique Luxury Awards at Top 50 Hotel Awards
Slate & Pearl (at Sterling Kodai Lake) – Top 50 Restaurants of The Year
• Travel + Leisure India – Best Awards 2025: Sterling Ooty – Fern Hill – Best Family Resort
• IRCTC (Indian Railways): Sterling Resorts (at Darjeeling, Gangtok, Kalimpong) – Outstanding Partner in North-East Hotels
• Economic Times: Amo Odisha (at Sterling Puri) – ET Restaurant and Nightlife Awards 2025
• Hospitality Horizon + Mickey Mehta, Spa & Wellness Summit 2025 (Mumbai):
Subuthi Spa (at Sterling Lake Palace Alleppey) – Top 10 Resort Spas in India – Excellence in Spa Leadership Award
• Future of L&D Summit & Awards 2025:
Sterling Holiday Resorts (L&D / Digital Learning Initiative) – Best in Digital Learning Initiative
Sterling Holiday Resorts (L&D / Digital Learning Initiative) – Best Learning Culture in an Organization
