OTA EaseMyTrip’s Expenses Triple To INR 73.2 Cr, Profit Shows Marginal Growth

Online travel aggregator (OTA) EaseMyTrip’s consolidated net profit rose 4% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 28.2 Cr in the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), up from INR 27.1 Cr a year ago. 

Revenue from operations surged more than 92% to INR 108.4 Cr in the quarter ended September 2022, compared to INR 56.6 Cr during the corresponding period last fiscal year. 

Q2 FY23: Revenue Growth Across Multiple Verticals:

• The air segment reported a revenue of INR 106.5 Cr, up from INR 57.9 Cr in Q2 FY22
• Revenue from the hotel packages vertical stood at INR 1.71 Cr
• Revenue from other services also grew to INR 24 Lakhs

“Strong GMV bookings by EaseMyTrip incentivises on the huge pent-up demand post COVID and growth opportunities within the industry,” said EaseMyTrip in a statement. 

However, total expenses nearly tripled YoY to INR 73.2 Cr, a steep 213% from INR 23.4 Cr in Q2 FY22. Of these, advertising and sales promotion expenses accounted for a major chunk at INR 29.7 Cr, growing 257% on a yearly basis from INR 8.4 Cr in Q2 FY22. 

Similarly, employee benefits stood at INR 11.6 Cr in Q2 FY23, a steep increase of 130% from INR 5.03 Cr reported during the fiscal year ended September 2021. 

The OTA achieved a record Gross Booking Revenue of INR 1,977.7 Cr in Q2 FY23, up 120.9% from INR 895 Cr in Q2 FY22. The growth was largely driven by response to OTA’s online travel festive sale and other marketing initiatives undertaken during the quarter.

The platform’s Travel Utsav festive (conducted in October) sale also clocked sales worth INR 555 Cr, the highest in a single sale period. Another sale called ‘Travel Carnival Sale’ (organised in August) generated transactions worth INR 300 Cr.

Key Operational Metrics:

• Gross Booking Revenue for the first half of the year (H1) stood at INR 3,640.8 Cr, an increase of 190.8% YoY
• Air segment bookings grew 52.1% YoY to 28.33 Lakhs in Q2 FY23
• Hotel night bookings soared 69.6% YoY to 77,919 in Q2 FY23

The company also reiterated its plans to expand globally. The OTA also claimed that it was already setting up subsidiaries in other countries such as the USA, New Zealand, Philippines, and Singapore. Besides, it already has an office in London and a retail outlet in Dubai

Founded in 2008 by Nishant Pitti, Rikant Pittie and Prashant Pitti, EaseMyTrip allows customers to book air, rail and bus tickets. The startup also offers hotel booking and holiday packages along with other travel services.

EaseMyTrip went public in March last year. The stock was listed on the NSE at a price of INR 212.25 per share and on the BSE at INR 206 apiece. Since its listing on the bourses, EaseMyTrip has gone on to accumulate a market capitalisation of INR 8,753.53 Cr.

The strong numbers come nearly a month after the travel aggregator’s board of directors approved the issuance of bonus shares in the ratio of 3:1 and a stock split. 

At the end of intraday trading on November 11, EaseMyTrip stock zoomed 1.31% to close at INR 402.85.

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