Info Edge (India) Limited, the parent company of subsidiaries such as Naukri.com and Jeevan Saathi, on Monday announced its results for the fourth quarter of FY 2021 with net sales in the respective quarter down by 10.2 per cent, billing up by 25.2%, total income down by 3.4% and operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) down by 44.
Commenting on the results, Chintan Thakkar, CFO said “We have witnessed continued recovery during the quarter, led by billings growth in Naukri India and 99acres by 26.0% and 41.5%respectively, over Q4 billings of FY’20. As compared with Q4 of FY’19, a pre-pandemic quarter, the billings in Naukri India and 99acres have grown 16.7% and 7.5% respectively
List of few subsidiaries
1. Allcheckdeals India Private Limited
2. Interactive Visual Solutions Private Limited
3. Jeevansathi Internet Services Private Limited
4. Naukri Internet Services Limited
List of few joint ventures
1. Zomato Media Private Limited
2. Makesense Technologies Limited
3. Happily Unmarried Marketing Private Limited
4. Nopaperforms Solutions Private Limited
5. International Education Gateway Private Limited
6. Agstack Technologies Private Limited
7. Shopkirana E Trading Private Limited
Key takeaways
99 Acres took a hit during Covid second wave: During the investors call Hitesh Oberoi, CEO of Info Edge said that the property listing platform took a hit in April and May. He said that once the lockdown restrictions are removed, the company expects to see broader recovery on all fronts such as listings, traffic, revenue and enquiries.
Naukri.com did not see any lull during Covid-19: “Surprisingly Covid had no effect on Naukri.com’s business. We were a bit surprised,” Oberoi said. He attributed the reason behind this to the digitisation and adoption of smartphones among citizens, and the shift of the hiring process to the online sphere.
Planning to grow Jeevan Saathi at 20 per cent annum per year: Despite the losses in this vertical of InfoEdge, the company plans to invest consistently, especially in the marketing segment to maintain a 20 per cent growth. Oberoi contended that there are other competitors in the market (Bharat Matrimony, Shaadi.com), who spend considerably more on the marketing segment. “If we have to gain share, we have to match marketing spend of our competitors,” he added.
Consolidation, a way forward in the matrimonial vertical: The matrimonial platform market comprises three major players – Bharat Matrimony, Shaadi.com, Jeevan Saathi. “That is why no player makes a lot of money and prices are depressed. So ideally it makes a lot of sense to players to come together,” Oberoi said, adding that InfoEdge would rather buy than sell if it came to consolidation.
Reorganisation of verticals: InfoEdge is in the process of re-organising the management structure of its verticals, especially 99 Acres. Oberois said that the workings of each segment — resale, commercial, new home and rental — is different from the other. So as of now, the company is reorganising the product teams for each of the segments. In the coming days, they will be reorganising the engineering teams.
Info Edge looking to get into the blue-collar jobs hiring segment: Essentially, naukri.com provides listing for white-collar jobs. However, now Info Edge has been testing a product called ‘Job Hai’ to attract blue-collar job listings. In this regard, Oberoi said, “Since everyone has a smartphone, and are digitally savvy, it is easy to get job seekers on to our app. The harder part is to get small companies to use the platform to hire,” he said. They may roll out the product nationally in the coming months.
Info Edge rules out the possibility of any super-app: Responding to a question, Oberoi ruled out the possibility of creating a super-app that integrates its different verticals. He reasoned that the products they offer do not attract customers to visit their platform every day. Sanjay Bikhchandani, co-founder of Info Edge said that proposal on similar grounds was mooted when they had first acquired Jeevan Saathi, but it did not work out.
Financial Highlights
Quarter Ended on March 31, 2021
- Billing at ₹415.7 crores, up by 25.2% over the corresponding quarter in FY 2019-20.
- Net sales (Revenue) at ₹290.0 crores, down by 10.2% over the corresponding quarter in FY 2019-20.
- Total Income at ₹330.7 crores, down by 3.4% over the corresponding quarter in FY2019-20.
- Operating EBITDA at ₹53.2 crores, down by 44.9% over the corresponding quarter in FY 2019-20.
Year Ended on March 31, 2021
- Billing at ₹1150.7 crores, down by 9.3% over the financial year ended March 31, 2020.
- Net sales (Revenue) at ₹1098.6crore down by 13.7% over the financial year ended March 31, 2020
- Total Income at ₹1217.4 crores down by 10.5% over the financial year ended March 31, 2020.
- Operating EBITDA at ₹277.5 crores down by 31.1% over the financial year ended March 31st2020.
Also read
- Info Edge to sell Zomato shares worth ₹750 crore in IPO
- Info Edge: Billings increase 19% over previous quarter, revenue by 17% YoY
