OYO set to report first ever post-tax profit

Oravel Stays Ltd, which operates travel tech brand OYO, is set to report its first-ever profit after tax of over Rs 16 crore in the current quarter ending September, according to an email sent by OYO's founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal to the company's top management on Tuesday, sources said.

"This year marks the 10th year of OYO, making it momentous and special. I have news to share befitting this occasion. As per the current trajectory in this quarter, Q2 FY24 will mark our maiden profitable quarter with a projected profit after tax (PAT) of over Rs 16 crore," Agarwal said in an email to the company's leadership, seen by PTI.

Talking about future growth prospects, Agarwal said: "We see immense potential in future growth markets like the US & UK where we are dedicated to instilling confidence in our patrons and utilizing innovative technologies, such as contactless check-in, to cater to their evolving needs of the customer."

He also informed that as per the just-released annual report, the company's revenue from operations stood at Rs 5,463 crore in FY23, up from Rs 4,781 crore in FY22, marking a nearly 14% increase.

"We also narrowed our losses to Rs 1,286 crore (FY 2022-23). Our Adjusted Gross Profit Margin rose to 43% of revenue and Adjusted Gross Profit increased by 23% to Rs 2,347 crore in FY23 from Rs 1,915 crore in FY22. Our revenue from operations stood at about Rs 5,463 crore in FY23 up from Rs 4,781 crore in FY22, marking a nearly 14% increase," the OYO founder and CEO said in the email.

He said the company rationalised the number of hotels in FY23 to 12,938 from 18,037 in FY22.

"Our intent is to expand the hotel network again since the process of pruning the ones which were incompatible with our tech-enabled, monthly revenue optimization operating model. This being said; as of June 2023, we still have the largest footprint in terms of hotels in India and SEA, as compared to other full stack short-stay accommodation players.

"Our overall Gross Booking Value (GBV) increased by 25% reaching the approximately Rs 10,000 crore milestone, of which GBV from the hotels business, stood at about Rs 6,172 crore, marking a y-o-y growth of 35%. GBV per storefront on hotels clocked a record growth of 82% to Rs 3,99,000 in FY23 from RS 2,19,000."

Oravel Stays Ltd had clocked an adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortisation) of Rs 175 crore in the first quarter of financial year 2023-24 (Q1 FY24) between April-June, Agarwal had told employees in a townhall recently, sources said earlier.

(The image has been updated)