CarTrade Posts INR 14.04 Cr Profit In Q3, Revenue Rises 13% YoY

SUMMARY

A sharp decline in ESOP expenses helped the auto marketplace post a profit in Q3 FY23 as against a loss of INR 18.48 Cr in the year-ago quarter

CarTrade’s adjusted profit, excluding ESOP expenses and deferred tax adjustment, rose 15% YoY to INR 24.05 Cr

Total income grew 13% to INR 115.85 Cr from INR 102.32 Cr in Q3 FY22

Auto marketplace CarTrade Tech reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of INR 14.04 Cr in the quarter ended December 2022 as against a loss of INR 18.48 Cr in the corresponding quarter of previous year on the back of a sharp decline in its ESOP expenses.

The startup’s ESOP expenses fell to INR 7.35 Cr in the third quarter of financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 46.68 Cr in the year-ago quarter. The startup’s adjusted PAT, excluding ESOP expenses and deferred tax adjustment, rose 15% to INR 24.05 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 20.93 Cr in Q3 FY22.

Total income grew 13% to INR 115.85 Cr from INR 102.32 Cr in Q3 FY22.

Led by the decline in ESOP expenses, CarTrade’s total expenses fell over 23% to INR 95.71 Cr in Q3 FY23 from INR 124.73 Cr in Q3 FY22.

Adjusted EBITDA stood at INR 36.6 Cr in the quarter ended December 2022, up 13% from INR 32.28 Cr in Q3 FY22.

The auto marketplace’s average monthly unique visitors stood at 35.4 Mn during the quarter under review as against 31 Mn in the year-ago period. Of these, 87.64% or 32.7 Mn unique visits came organically without spending any money. The startup, which operates websites such as Carwale and Bikewale also claimed that it has the highest index score among its peers across its car and bike marketplaces.

Meanwhile, auction listings in Q3 FY23 fell 18% to 2.68 Lakh from 3.26 Lakh in Q3 FY22. Auction volume also fell 18% on a yearly basis to 59,202 in the quarter ended December 2022. In total, CarTrade logged 1.1 Mn annualised auction listings in the quarter.

Commenting on the results, CarTrade founder and chairman Vinay Sanghi said, “…We are one of the few profitable Internet companies and our PAT for the three-month period ended December 31, 2022, stood at INR 14.05 Cr. Our profitable business model and surplus liquidity of over INR 1,000 Cr will allow us to invest in widening our offerings towards providing a seamless phygital experience to all our users.”

The startup claims to have a presence at more than 200 physical locations, including 73 CarWale abSure outlets in 33 cities.

Shares of CarTrade ended 1.73% higher at INR 473.20 on the BSE on Tuesday. The company released the financial results after market hours.