MakeMyTrip founder Deep Kalra steps down as Group Executive Chairman

MakeMyTrip founder Deep Kalra has stepped down from his role as the Group Executive Chairman, which he undertook on February 11, 2020. 

Deep Kalra will now act as the Group Chairman and Chief Mentor starting April 1, 2022, the company said in an exchange filing on Tuesday. 

In his new role, he will mentor the online travel company’s leadership team and will continue to focus on  initiatives such as product innovation and expansion.

MakeMyTrip is led by Rajesh Magow, who took on the role of Group Chief Executive Officer in February 2020.  

The company, which owns brands like MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and redBus, was founded by Deep Kalra in 2000. The company got listed on NASDAQ in 2010. 

The company reported an annual revenue of $174 million in the financial year ending March 31, 2020, before the pandemic brought it $57 million the year after.  

MakeMyTrip announced the change along with its December quarter results. 

“While the current Omicron wave has impacted consumer sentiment for leisure travel from January 2022, we continue to observe demand for domestic essential travel,” Deep said in a release. 

The company reported a revenue of $115 million in the fiscal third quarter of 2022, up 102.5 percent over last year and 70.5 percent over previous quarter. 

Its adjusted profit for the quarter was $13.2 million, up 153.8 percent YoY, and 100 percent sequentially. 

“We reported our best Adjusted Operating Profit quarter during the ongoing pandemic supported by pent-up travel demand following the second wave of COVID-19 cases in India, coupled with festive travel and winter holidays seasonality,” the release said. 

Led by the festive demand, the company’s gross bookings rose 93 percent over last year and 57.4 percent over last quarter to $1155.7 million between October and December. 

Revenue from the company's air ticketing business rose 50.6 percent quarterly to $27.4 million in the quarter, “primarily due to strong recovery in domestic travel demand,” the company said in a release. 

MakeMyTrip's hotels and packaging business rose by 175.6 percent yearly to $67.2 million during the quarter ended December 31, 2021.