MakeMyTrip earns $216M profit in FY24 as travel demand exceeds pre-pandemic levels
MakeMyTrip maintains a strong outlook on domestic airline travel and demand for alternate mediums as the sector grapples with strikes and cancellations.
Online Travel service provider (MMT) on Wednesday reported robust margins and record yearly gross bookings as leisure and business-related travel demand in India crossed pre-pandemic levels.
NASDAQ-listed MakeMyTrip reported a profit of $216.7 million in FY24 against a loss of $11.2 million posted a year ago.
Rajesh Magow, Group Chief Executive Officer, MakeMyTrip said in a statement that the company has “bounced back stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic by posting our best-ever financial performance during the fiscal year 2024 in terms of both gross bookings and profit.”
The Gurugram-based firm reported nearly a 25% rise in gross bookings in FY24 to $7.95 billion from $6.57 billion reported a year earlier. It reported a 35.7% rise in revenue during the financial year ended March 31, 2024. Revenue rose to $782.5 million from $593 million in FY23.
Noting the rise in demand, Magow noted that the rise in disposable income, increasing accessibility, and popularity of spiritual travel are leading to increased bookings.
“In the last two years, we have witnessed over 97% growth in searches for spiritual destinations” and expects “this category to be a long-term growth driver,” he added.
During the fourth quarter, MMT posted a 38% rise in revenue to $202.9 million on a profit of $171.9 million even as the period was a “low seasonality quarter for leisure travel,” added CEO Magow. Shares of the company opened marginally higher at $78/share after the results.
Founded in 2000, MakeMyTrip’s platform provides booking services for hotels, flights, buses, travel guides, and holiday packages.
In terms of the performance of its air ticketing segment, the company expects short-term headwinds in the Indian aviation sector but noted that the domestic supply situation is expected to improve from the second half of the upcoming fiscal year.
Adjusted margin from its air ticketing business grew 16.7% year-on-year during fiscal year 2024, while hotels and packages saw a growth of 38.4% during the same period.
Bus ticketing adjusted margin grew 36.1% for FY24. The company launched its bus booking platform, Redbus in two international markets during the fourth quarter—Vietnam and Cambodia—and expects to increase its international presence in the mid to long term.
Edited by Kanishk Singh