PB Fintech Q1: Net Profit At INR 60 Cr, Revenue Jumps 52% YoY

SUMMARY

The healthy growth in profits came largely on the back of robust growth across business segments

Insurtech vertical Policybazaar’s total insurance premium for Q1 FY25 stood at INR 4,871 Cr, up 62% YoY jump

Paisabazaar extended loans worth INR 3,100 Cr and issued 1.3 Lakh cards during the quarter under review

Insurtech major Policybazaar’s parent PB Fintech reported a consolidated net profit of INR 59.98 Cr in the June quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) as against a loss of INR 11.9 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

The turnaround came largely on the back of robust growth across business segments.

This was the third consecutive profitable quarter for PB Fintech. It reported its maiden profitable quarter in Q3 FY24 with a net profit of INR 37 Cr while its profit stood at INR 60.2 Cr in the quarter ended March 2024.

Meanwhile, PB Fintech’s operating revenue jumped 51.8% to INR 1,010.5 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 665.6 Cr in the year-ago quarter. On a sequential basis, it declined 7.2% from INR 1,089.6 Cr in Q4 FY24.

Revenue of the group’s core online business, which includes Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, grew 29% YoY to INR 665 Cr in Q4 FY24. On the other hand, new initiatives arm added INR 346 Cr to the total top line, up 131% YoY.

The insurtech major’s EBITDA profitability improved further by 117% to INR 49 Cr as against INR 23 Cr in the year-ago period.

In a filing with the BSE, the company said that insurtech vertical Policybazaar’s total insurance premium for Q1 FY25 stood at INR 4,871 Cr, up 62% YoY jump, led by growth across the new health and life insurance business.

PB Fintech’s Paisabazaar extended loans worth INR 3,100 Cr and issued 1.3 Lakh cards during the quarter under review, with 75% of cards issued in Q1 FY25 through end-to-end digital processes.

“Our trail revenue is now more than 16% of total revenue primarily driven by our co-created strategy and is helping strengthen the robustness of the business,” PB Fintech said in its Q1 earnings release.

Going forward, the company will look to scale up its secured credit business by strengthening its distribution and fulfillment capabilities. The company is also building a personal finance management platform and plans to roll out a loyalty program to drive engagement.

Zooming Into Expenses

PB Fintech’s total expenditure in the reported quarter jumped to INR 1,081.1 Cr from INR 768.5 Cr in the year-ago period.

This came largely on the back of rising employee costs, which single-handedly made up for 42% of the company’s total expenses in Q1 FY25.

Employee Cost: PB Fintech spent 455.5 Cr towards employee benefit expenses in the reporting period, up 18.6% from INR 383.9 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

On a QoQ basis, the company’s spending in this bracket rose 3.6% from INR 439.6 Cr in the previous quarter.

Advertising & Promotional Expenses: The company spent INR 245.3 Cr under this bucket in Q1 FY25, up over 23% from INR 198.9 Cr in Q1 FY24. Sequentially, the company’s expenses in this bucket rose 3.1%.

Shares of PB Fintech closed 2.9% lower at INR 1431.9 apiece on the BSE today ahead of the earnings announcement.