Infibeam Avenues Q1: Profit Jumps 59% YoY To INR 50.4 Cr

Payments infrastructure company Infibeam Avenues posted a 59% jump in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to INR 50.4 Cr in the June quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) from INR 31.6 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

However, including the impact arising from mark-to-market gain/loss from investment in listed security, the company’s PAT surged over 2X to INR 69.6 Cr in the reported quarter from INR 25.4 Cr in Q1 FY24. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, it jumped 41% from INR 49.2 Cr in Q4 FY24. 

Revenue from operations rose 1.4% to INR 752.7 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 742.3 Cr in the corresponding quarter last year.

In its earnings statement for Q1, Infibeam attributed the growth to increase in transaction volume, expansion of its merchant base and growth in the international business, among others.

The payment business contributed INR 704.7 Cr to Infibeam’s revenue in Q1 FY25. This was an increase of 2.6% from INR 686.7 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

The revenue from ecommerce platform business, however, declined 13.8% to INR 47.9 Cr in the reported quarter as against INR 55.6 Cr in Q1 FY24. 

The company’s adjusted EBITDA rose 25% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 69.8 Cr in the reported quarter from INR 55.8 Cr in Q1 FY24.

Infibeam also said that it has signed an agreement to acquire a 54.1% stake in digital content and ecommerce marketplace Rediff.com for INR 25 Cr. 

The acquisition, expected to be completed within the next three months, will mark Infibeam’s entry into the consumer-facing digital financial services market as an aggregator.

As of March 31, 2024, Rediff.com, one of the oldest internet companies of India, had an annual turnover of INR 36.07 Cr.

Besides, Infibeam’s AI business vertical Phronetic.AI is running pilot projects with multiple clients and the company expects to bag “multiple project orders of millions of dollars” by the end of Q2 FY25.

Infibeam has been ramping up its AI ambitions for quite some time now. In March, Infibeam rolled out its AI platform, THEIA, to help businesses with advanced video analytics.

The fintech startup also recently signed  an MoU worth INR 2,000 Cr with the Gujarat government for its AI-Hub.

Commenting on the Q1 performance, Infibeam chairman and managing director Vishal Mehta said, “We continue to scale high with our payments and platform business vertical. With the addition of emerging technologies and investment in innovation, especially in artificial intelligence, we expect to further accelerate our company’s growth in coming quarters in this fiscal year. Our new business vertical in AI will play a crucial role in recalibrating the growth trajectory of the company and expect to deliver value to all stakeholders.” 

Zooming Into Infibeam’s Expenses

Infibeam trimmed its overall expenditure to INR 702.7 Cr in the reported quarter from INR 710.6 Cr in the year-ago quarter, with operating costs capturing a sizable 90% portion of the company’s total expenses in Q1 FY25.

Operating Costs: Infibeam spent INR 634.2 Cr under this bracket during the quarter under review, 1.4% lower than INR 643.6 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

Employee Costs: Infibeam spent 36.2 Cr towards employee benefit expenses in Q1 FY25, up 20% from INR 30.2 Cr in Q1 FY24.

Founded in 2007, Infibeam is a listed company that offers comprehensive digital payment solutions and enterprise software platforms to businesses and governments across industry verticals.

In March, Infibeam Avenues received the RBI’s nod to operate as a payment aggregator via its payment gateway brand CCAvenue.

Following the company’s Q1 earnings announcement, shares of Infibeam ended Friday’s session 4.26% higher at INR 32.30 apiece on the BSE.

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.