Update: We’ve corrected the headline to refer to the parent company Info Edge instead of the stock market symbol Naukri, since the headline can be misinterpreted as a reference to Naukri.com instead of the company has a whole. Thanks for pointing this out in the comments Sanjeev.
Yesterday: Info Edge Ltd, the company which owns Naukri.com, Jeevansathi, 99Acres, Shiksha.com, among others has reported a net profit after tax (on a standalone basis) of Rs 28.7 crore for the quarter ended June 30th, 2015, registering a 28% decline from Rs 39.8 crore profit in the same quarter last year and down 65% from Rs 82.1 crore profit in the previous quarter. Q4 is typically Info Edge’s strongest quarter, so a year on year comparison is more apt.
Total income, including other income, increased to Rs 193 crore for the quarter. The net sales for the company grew to Rs 171.8 crore for the quarter, up 19% from Rs 144.9 crore in the same quarter last year and a marginal 1% dip from Rs 173.97 crore in the previous quarter.
The company saw a substantive increase in employee costs (Rs 75.9 crore, up 29% YoY) and, in particular, advertising and promotion costs (Rs 46.1 crore, up 174% YoY) during the quarter.
For context, advertising expenditure has typically been around 20% of total expenditure for the company. This quarter, spends increased for the first time in 3 years, to 30% of expenditure.
Its employee cost, as a percentage of total expenses, as a consequence, declined to its lowest in 9 quarters.
In its disclosures, Info Edge said that around 9.843 crore was spent during the quarter as working capital for 99Acres. 99Acres reported Rs 25.28 crore in revenue and Rs 36.14 crore in loss before tax for the quarter. From the Press Release:
Update: From the press release: ‘Chintan Thakkar, CFO said, “The results validate that we are on track in executing the plan of building valuable internet properties with a right mix of growth in revenue and investment. The recruitment Solution segment continues to grow at a healthy rate of about 20% with the segment profit at 53%. 99acres has accelerated investments in the business and we are confident of continuing to lead in this space”’
Info Edge has used Rs 15.186 crore of its Rs 750 crore QIP proceeds as working capital 99Acres. The company had raised Rs 750 crore in the previous quarter, by selling 10.13 million shares (10,135,135 shares) of face value Rs 10 each, for an issue price of Rs 740 per share. (Read: How 99Acres plans to use the $120 million it has raised)
Earnings per share for Info Edge also declined to Rs 2.40 for the quarter, down from Rs 3.64 crore in the same quarter last year and Rs 6.84 in the previous quarter.
Other Segment results
– Recruitment Solution (including Naukri) reported Rs 124.72 crore in revenues up 20%, Rs 63.9 crore in profit. Margins in the recruitment solutions business are 53%
– Others, including Shiksha and Jeevansathi, reported Rs 21.79 crore in revenues and Rs 3.48 crore in loss
Download – Financials
Corrigendum: an earlier version of this article incorrectly cited the amount invested in 99 Acres in the quarter. The error is regretted, and the story has been corrected.
Disclosure: Info Edge is an advertiser with MediaNama
