Earlier this year, OYO furloughed employees across geographies.
OYO Hotels & Homes is “continuously recovering” from the pandemic-led business disruption and has close to $1 billion in its repository to fund regular operations, founder & group CEO Ritesh Agarwal told employees on Tuesday.
“….we have continued to hold on to close to a billion dollars of cash, including all our group companies, including joint venture companies…..At the same time, we’ve been very disciplined in making sure that we can respond to the crisis in a good way to try and ensure that we can come out of it at the right time,” Agarwal said during a fireside chat with board member Troy Alstead.
The imposition of the lockdowns and restrictions on travel by the governments across the world to check the spread of Covid-19 crippled the hospitality business. Companies had to cut jobs and implement pay cuts to rein in costs. Although the phased reopening of economies has helped businesses to an extent, complete revival seems distant as the pandemic, which has been there for a year now, fails to subside.
“We are still not at the best place, a lot more work has to be done,” Agarwal said. The founder said the OYO Vacation Homes business is becoming critical in terms of contribution to the company’s overall growth.
Earlier this year, OYO furloughed employees across geographies. In India, the firm that had sent a section of employees on leave with limited benefits extended the same by another six months ending February 28, 2021. The impacted staff have also been given the option to opt for a voluntary separation programme.
The SoftBank-backed company’s consolidated losses increased to $335 million for the year ended March 2019 from $52 million in FY18, as expansion into international markets, including China, entailed heavy costs.
Agarwal said the management is building a company that is ready to go public without indicating a specific timeline. “…. our management’s focus is to make sure that we give a very well designed, IPO ready company, available for our shareholders.”
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