Naukri parent Info Edge turns a loss after writing off investment in Rahul Yadav's 4B Networks
Info Edge first invested in the Housing.com founder's latest startup in late 2021, eventually increasing its holding to a majority stake. Third-quarter revenue improved 40%, buoyed by strong non-IT hiring even as IT hiring witnessed a slowdown.
parent Info Edge reported a loss of Rs 116 crore for the December quarter, with its share of profits from associated entities declining sharply and as the company wrote off its entire investment of Rs 276 crore in Rahul Yadav's latest venture.
The company had posted a profit of Rs 4,601.9 crore in the year-earlier third quarter, when it benefitted from a Rs 2,405 crore share in the profits of associate and joint ventures. In the latest quarter, that turned out to be a loss of Rs 33.7 crore.
Info Edge first invested in Housing.com founder Rahul Yadav's 4B Networks in December 2021, increasing that to a majority holding in March last year and making it a step-down subsidiary of its unit Allcheckdeals (ACD) India.
In an exchange filing on Friday, Info Edge said its investment in 4B Networks was fully impaired, owing to factors including "excessive cash burn, prevailing liquidity issues and significant uncertainty towards funding options."
Info Edge's revenue from operations in the fiscal third quarter, however, rose 40% from a year earlier to Rs 589.5 crore. Revenue from jobs portal Naukri.com, a majority contributor to Info Edge's business, rose 43% to Rs 453 crore.
Info Edge's results come on the back of a tough job market, with hiring activity declining over 3% in the second half of 2022.
"While we are seeing a slowdown in IT hiring, the non-IT hiring market continues to be strong," MD and CEO Hitesh Oberoi said in a press statement.
Revenue from property buying and renting platform 99acres, Info Edge's second-largest revenue generator, rose 24% to Rs 72.9 crore in the December quarter. The business, however, logged a standalone EBITDA loss of Rs 23.2 crore.
Total expenses shot up 33% from the corresponding year-ago period to Rs 422.5 crore.
On a standalone basis, its subsidiary Shiksha logged a revenue of Rs 27.7 crore, a 26.2% growth year-on-year. Matrimonial platform Jeevansathi's revenue, however, fell 26.3% to Rs 17.9 crore.
Last week, rival Quess Corp, parent of Foundit (formerly Monster India), reported a 3.25% decline in consolidated profit after tax for the December quarter.
Info Edge shares ended Friday nearly unchanged at Rs 3,825.00 apiece on NSE, ahead of the earnings announcement.
Edited by Feroze Jamal