Info Edge reports 50% drop in net profit in Q1 as Naukri sees weak billings
The decline in Info Edge's net profit was primarily due to pressures on billing rates and lower demand from IT industry recruitment.
Consumer internet firm , reported a net profit of Rs 147 crore on a consolidated basis for the first quarter of FY24 registering a 50% year-on-year (YoY) decline compared to a similar period a year ago.
CEO Hitesh Oberoi said that its flagship business Naukri was facing headwinds in IT hiring. "However, the non-IT hiring market continues to look good. Growth in 99acres continues to be strong. In Jeevansathi, our Freemium strategy has helped us bring down our marketing spend and cut burn over the last few quarters," he said.
Revenues during this period on a consolidated basis were Rs 626 crore—a YoY growth of 15%.
Info Edge MD and CEO Hitesh Oberoi.
The company operates in four areas of business—recruitment, real estate, matrimony, and education. Meanwhile, billing for the quarter dropped marginally by 0.2% year on year to Rs 523 crore.
Info Edge said the revenues for the quarter in the recruitment business grew 15.3% YoY while revenues in its real estate business grew 24.6% YoY.
The company registered a growth of 37.2% in its operating profit to Rs 208.9 crore on a standalone basis for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, compared with a profit of Rs 152.3 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. The standalone business generated cash from operations of Rs 144.6 crore for the quarter.
Info Edge CFO Chintan Thakkar said, “Despite the challenging environment in IT recruitment, growth in billings and rationalisation of spending in 99acres, Shiksha and Jeevansathi business contributed to generating Rs 145 crore of cash from operations in Q1’24.”
Edited by Akanksha Sarma