ixigo Back In The Black As Travel Rebounds, Crosses INR 500 Cr Revenue Milestone

SUMMARY

The travel tech startup had reported a net loss of INR 21.1 Cr in FY22 as against a profit of INR 7.5 Cr in FY21

Operating revenue jumped 32% YoY to INR 501.2 Cr in FY23 and total expenses jumped to INR 484.3 Cr from INR 402.5 Cr a year ago

ixigo spent INR 102.6 Cr on salaries and wages against INR 71.7 Cr in FY22

Traveltech major ixigo’s parent entity Le Travenues Technology Limited turned profitable in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) with a consolidated net profit of INR 23.4 Cr as travel demand bounced back. The startup reported a net loss of INR 21.1 Cr in FY22 as against a profit of INR 7.5 Cr in FY21.

ixigo’s operating revenue jumped 32% to INR 501.2 Cr in FY23 from INR 379.6 Cr in the prior fiscal.

As a travel aggregator, Ixigo earns a majority of its revenue from the sale of various travel and related services. The sources of its revenue include the income it generates from convenience fees from the reservation of rail tickets, airline tickets, and bus tickets, as well as income from advertising services.

In FY23, ixigo’s domestic revenue increased to INR 487.9 Cr from INR 369.3 Cr in FY22. Meanwhile, its ‘export revenue services’ grew almost 30% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 13.3 Cr in the reported year.

Overall, including its interest income, excess provisions written back, and other non-operating income, ixigo’s total revenue stood at INR 517.6 Cr in FY23 as against INR 384.9 Cr a year ago.

Speaking about its improving earnings, ixigo had said in a statement earlier this year that it achieved an EBITDA margin of over 7% in FY23. The gross transaction value run rate of ixigo stood at INR 10,000 Cr in May 2023, which the company intends to double in the next two years.

Founded by Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar, the ixigo group claimed to have crossed 66 Mn monthly active users across ixigo, ConfirmTkt, and AbhiBus platforms, as of March 2023.

A Sneak Peek Into ixigo’s Spending

ixigo’s total expenses jumped 1.2X to INR 484.3 Cr in FY23 from INR 402.5 Cr a fiscal ago, with employee costa being the single biggest contributor.

The startup’s employee benefit expenses surged 1.3X YoY to INR 126.3 Cr during the year under review. Of this, ixigo spent INR 102.6 Cr on salaries and wages. The startup spent INR 71.7 Cr on salaries in FY22.

Meanwhile, advertising and promotional expenses jumped to INR 93.1 Cr from INR 57.5 Cr in FY22. Notably, ixigo roped in actors Jackie Shroff and Suniel Shetty for a new ad campaign, explaining the rise in ad expenses.

Ixigo’s IT expenses, too, jumped to INR 22.3 Cr in the year under review.

Meanwhile, the company’s finance costs declined to INR 94.9 Lakh in the year from INR 2.8 Cr in FY22.

The traveltech major, which largely competes with MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip, and Yatra, is now targeting a 40% revenue growth in FY24. ixigo sees scaling its business to INR 700 Cr in the current fiscal.

In July this year, ixigo unveiled its ChatGPT-powered ‘intelligent’ trip planner, PLAN, offering personalised recommendations, suggestions, and itineraries to travellers based on their present locations.

ixigo received SEBI’s nod for its INR 1,600 Cr IPO in December 2021 but the startup put its listing plan on hold due to severe turmoil in the global equity market.