SUMMARY
Yatra had posted a net loss of INR 5.6 Cr in Q3 FY23 and a loss of INR 17.1 Cr in Q2 FY24
Operating revenue jumped almost 23% YoY and 17.2% QoQ to INR 110.3 Cr in Q3 FY24
Domestic air passenger traffic grew 26% YoY during the quarter under review but EBITDA declined 25% YoY to INR 4.8 Cr in Q3 FY24
Online travel aggregator Yatra Online returned to the black in the December quarter (Q3) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), posting a consolidated net profit of INR 1.1 Cr against a loss of INR 5.6 Cr in the year-ago quarter.
Yatra had posted a net loss of INR 17.1 Cr in the preceding September quarter of 2023. However, its net profit in Q3 FY24 was far below the INR 6 Cr profit it reported in Q1 FY24.
Yatra’s operating revenue jumped almost 23% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 110.3 Cr in Q3 FY24. It rose 17.2% from INR 94.1 Cr in the previous quarter – Q2 FY24.
Including other income, Yatra’s total income stood at INR 119.2 Cr in the reported quarter as against INR 93.2 Cr posted in Q3 FY23.
Yatra competes with the likes of MakeMyTrip and EaseMyTrip. However, the startup is more focused on servicing the B2E and B2B2C customers, unlike its peers. Recently, brokerage JM Financial said in a research note that Yatra’s B2E exposure was expanding rapidly due to the management’s focus on improving enterprise market share, which should aid its margin expansion.
In a statement on Wednesday (February 13), Yatra said it continues to expand its corporate client base and closed 26 new corporate accounts during Q3, with the total annual billing potential of INR 223.7 Cr.
Subsequent to the end of the quarter, Yatra said it closed a few large accounts, including one of the largest banks in India and a marquee pharma company.
Speaking on the Q3 FY24 earnings, Yatra CEO Dhruv Shringi said that the platform’s air passenger segment recorded a robust growth – nearly triple the industry benchmark of 9%.
Yatra said its domestic air passengers grew 26% YoY during the quarter under review. However, its EBITDA declined 25% YoY to INR 4.8 Cr.
Yatra also said that corporate business continued to be impacted by muted business travel spends across its IT/ITES clients.
Where Did Yatra Spend?
Yatra’s total expenses surged 20% to INR 117 Cr in Q3 FY24 from INR 97.5 Cr posted in the year-ago period.
Employee Cost: Continuing to be the biggest expense head, Yatra’s employee benefit expenses increased 10.3% to INR 32.1 Cr in the reported period from INR 29.1 Cr in Q3 FY23.
However, the traveltech major managed to slash this expense by over 12% sequentially from INR 36.6 Cr.
Service Cost: Yatra’s spending in this bucket increased 38.6% YoY to INR 26.9 Cr in the reported quarter.
Marketing & Sales Cost: Expenditure in this bucket also jumped over 30% YoY to INR 10.7 Cr.
However, Yatra cut the marketing spends by 13% sequentially from INR 12.3 Cr.
