PB Fintech stock rallies but gives up gains post Q4 results

Shares of PB Fintech, the parent of PolicyBazaar and Paisabazaar, rose as much as 5% on the NSE on Monday, a day after the company reported its March quarter (Q4 FY23) numbers. 

The company’s scrip stood at Rs 650 a piece on the NSE and Rs 654.35 a piece on the BSE in early trade on Tuesday, against the previous close of Rs 619.05.

The stock price, which started on a positive note, however, gave up the initial gains. The shares quickly went off the opening highs and were trading 0.46% lower at Rs 616.23 on NSE at 11:23 am on Tuesday, compared to the previous day's close.

The earnings release showed that the insurance aggregator reduced its PAT loss for the said quarter to Rs 9.34 crore from Rs 219 crore in the same period last year. 

Overall, the consolidated loss for the year almost halved to Rs 487.93 crore as compared to Rs 832.9 the previous financial year.

The company management had guided to achieve profitability in FY24. 

The company's revenue from operations jumped 61% year-on-year (yoy) to Rs 869 crore during the quarter, and closed at Rs 2,557.84 for the entire year, marking a growth of about 80% over FY22. 

The company said its existing businesses have been EBITDA positive for more than a year, with Paisabazaar individually being EBITDA positive since December 2022. Meanwhile, for new initiatives, the adjusted EBITDA loss was down to Rs 36 crore. 

Overall, the company claimed to have achieved break even with consolidated adjusted EBITDA of Rs 28 crore for the three months ended March. 

CLSA maintained ‘Outperform’ recommendation, and raised its target price on the stock to Rs 720 from Rs 710. 

Morgan Stanley maintained ‘Overweight’ rating on the stock and has a target price of Rs 810 per share while Citi raised the target price to Rs 820 with a Buy call on the stock.