Online Matchmaking Portal Matrimony Boasts 61% Rise In Q2 2017 Profit

Online matchmaking platform Matrimony has announced a 13.7% Y-o-Y increase in its revenue, reaching $12.92 Mn (INR 83.7Cr) for Q2 2017, ending on September 30, 2017.

As per the earnings release, The Earnings before Interest, Tax, and Depreciation (EBITDA) margin stood at 24.6% against 20.1% for the corresponding quarter of the previous year, indicating higher cash flows in the company.

Further, the consolidated net profit (Total comprehensive income) for Q2 2017 was at $2.90 Mn (INR 18.8 Cr), showcasing a Y-o-Y growth of 61.1%. As stated by the company, the net profit for the quarter includes the impact of the recognition of previously unrecognised net deferred tax assets of $501.8K (INR 3.25 Cr).

Murugavel Janakiraman, Managing Director, Matrimony said, “Business is witnessing a healthy double-digit growth with improved EBITDA margins leading to higher cash flows”. He further added, “The growth in matchmaking revenue coupled with higher operating leverage has resulted in the improvement in margin quarter on quarter. The marriage services segment is still in the nascent stage and is being nurtured for growth and scale.”

Other Key Highlights Of The Q2 2017 (Ending September 30, 2017)

• Overall profiles added for Q2 2017 were 870K, of which 61% were posted by the prospects themselves, 17% of the profiles were added by parents and 22% of the profiles were by siblings, relatives and others.
• Around 52,000 success stories have been reported to the Company in H1 of the current financial year.
• During the quarter, the Photography service has expanded its operations to Karnataka.
• Matchmaking segment revenue for the current quarter was $12.19 Mn (INR.79 Cr), showing a 12% Y-o-Y growth.
• Marriage Services Revenue for the current quarter stood at $710K (INR 4.6 Cr), resulting in a Y-o-Y growth of 52.6%.

Matrimony.com: Leading The Charts In  Indian Online Matchmaking Market Worth $318 Mn

Since its launch in 2001 as an online matchmaking platform, Matrimony.com has diversified its business into a group of companies catering to the needs of the Indian wedding market.

In April last year, the company, which runs online matchmaking business under BharatMatrimony, announced the launch of the 2gether app. The app is a private messenger for couples that allows them to chat, texts, share pictures, videos, along with other features like setting reminders for important dates, sharing locations, and archiving favourite moments as memories.

Also, the company has pioneered several new business models such as  MatrimonyPhotography, MatrimonyBazaar, MatrimonyMandaps, and CommunityMatrimony, a consortium of over 300 community matrimony websites such as ChristianMatrimony.com, MuslimMatrimony.com, Sikh, Jain, sites and even a dedicated website for SC/ST tribes.

Competing against Shaadi.com, Times Group’s SimplyMarry and Info Edge-owned Jeevansaathi, Matrimony boasts a valuation of around $715 Mn (as of October 2016). Matrimony.com also floated its IPO this quarter, which got oversubscribed 4.41 times. The IPO get listed on the stock exchange on September 21, 2017.

As per a recent Financial Times report, “India’s annual spending on marriage-related services stands at $57 Bn, according to KPMG — and there lies a group of more than 100 Mn unmarried Indians aged between 18 and 35.” This indicated the widely untapped opportunity that the Indian entrepreneurs are trying to cash upon.

Apart from the leading matchmaking websites, another class of online dating portals has emerged in past few years. TrulyMadly, Tinder, Happn, Woo, Aisle are the few names among others, which are also encouraging the concept of online matchmaking in the country.

Overall, the online matchmaking industry is expected to reach revenues worth $318 Mn (INR 20.6 Bn) by 2020, as per a Ken research report 2016. The strong quarter performance of Matrimony is quite an indication of the growth a company can achieve in this fledgeling industry.