Justdial Revenue Grows 2X In Q2 FY23; Profit Jumps 200% QoQ

Mumbai-based hyperlocal search engine Justdial has recorded a net profit of INR 52.2 Cr in the second quarter of the financial year 2022-23 – a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) rise of 207.85% from the loss of INR 48.4 Cr in Q1 FY23. 

The net profit margin was 25.4% in Q2 FY23, as compared to -26.1% in Q1 FY23.

The company claims that its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin has improved significantly over the quarter. In Q2 FY23, Justdial reported an EBITDA margin of 8.3% vs a 4.5% margin in Q1 FY23. 

In the quarter ending September 30, 2022, the revenue of Justdial was INR 261.8 Cr, more than double the previous quarter, when it recorded INR 125.6 Cr in total revenue (operating plus other income sources).

The company’s operating revenue in Q2 FY23, though, was INR 205.3 Cr – a QoQ rise of only 10.61% from INR 185.6 Cr in Q1 FY23. 

The overall revenue increase is attributed to a significant (INR 60 Cr) loss in other income in Q1 FY23, which Justdial claims were owing to mark-to-market (MTM) loss on the treasury portfolio because of a significant increase in bond yields during the quarter.

A major chunk (78%) of the company’s expenses was towards employee costs and ESOP expenses contributed another 1.2% to the cost.

The B2B search engine platform was acquired by Reliance Retail in September 2021. At the time Reliance’s stake in Jusdial was 41%. 

As of September 30, 2022, Reliance Retail acquired another 26% stake in the company, taking its total shareholding to 66.4%. 

The VSS Mani-led company has an extensive database of around 31.7 Mn listings and its existing consumer traffic is around 132 Mn quarterly unique users (as of September 2022). 

In Q2 FY23, Justdial also reported incoming traffic of 156.5 Mn across its mobile website and app (84.5%), desktop website (11.6%) and voice calls (3.9%).

What started as yellow pages for online businesses, also offers a suite of products including a B2B ecommerce platform, competing with the likes of Udaan and IndiaMART.

The company earns revenue through paid advertisements placed by businesses on Justdial, premium listing packages, add-on products including banners, website, payment features, reviews, ‘rating ledger and more.

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