IndiaMART’s Q2 FY23 Profit Narrows 16% YoY To INR 68 Cr

B2B ecommerce major IndiaMART reported a consolidated net profit of INR 68.4 Cr in the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), down 16% compared to the same period last year. 

The profit took a hit likely on account of significant investments in manpower, product, technology, sales and servicing.

However, if we look on a quarterly basis, its profits surged more than 46% from INR 46.7 Cr in Q1 FY23.

Overall, IndiaMART’s revenues from operations soared nearly 32% to INR 240.6 Cr, up from INR 182.4 Cr during the same period last year. 

Other Highlights

• Other income from operations grew 48% YoY to INR 46.6 Cr 
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also surged to INR 46.1 Cr in Q2 FY23
• Expenses rose nearly 78% in Q2 FY23 to INR 183.6 Cr, compared to INR 103.4 Cr in Q1 FY22

Employee benefits accounted for a major chunk of the total expenditure. It grew close to 67% to INR 100.5 Cr compared to INR 60.3 Cr registered during the same period last year. 

Founded in 1996 by Brijesh Agrawal and Dinesh Agarwal, IndiaMART is a B2B marketplace that operates at the intersection of traditional and digital supply chain management. The platform provides a gamut of services such as classifieds services, virtual storefronts, and lead management to connect buyers and sellers. 

After nearly two and half decades of operations, the B2B behemoth went public in July of 2019, having raised $40 Mn in funding before the stellar debut. 

The startup currently has 87 Mn product listings and has so far accumulated more than 160 Mn registered buyers. A majority of the traffic emanated from smartphones. Add to this, the total headcount at the startup rose 6% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 4,088 in Q2 FY23. 

The Noida-based startup also saw virtual supplier storefronts on its websites grow 10% YoY to 7.3 Mn while paid subscription suppliers increased 25% YoY to 1.8 Lakh. It also registered consolidated traffic of 261 Mn with total business enquiries hovering around 23 Mn during the period under review.

The current year has seen IndiaMART undertake a massive acquisition blitzkrieg, picking up stakes in startups such as Livekeeping, Realbooks, IB Monotaro and others. While this was the case more or less this year, Q2 FY23 was relatively calm as IndiaMART did not make any purchases during the period.

The acquisitions have taken a massive toll on the startup’s bottomline but have largely been towards diversifying its portfolio and sharpening its offerings.

In its last quarterly report, IndiaMART had also reported a 47% YoY decline in its consolidated net profit to INR 47 Cr in Q2 FY23. However, its revenues had surged 24% YoY to INR 224.6 Cr in Q1 FY23.

IndiaMART largely competes with players such as Udaan, Moglix, Infra.Market, which operate in different segments of the procurement market. While IndiaMART’s operating revenue stood at INR 753 Cr in FY22, its competitor and construction materials marketplace Infra.Market claimed to have reported a revenue of INR 6,236 Cr during the same period. 

At the end of intraday trading on October 10, the B2B giant’s shares tanked nearly 1.71% to INR 4,415.85 on the BSE.