Mumbai-based hyperlocal search engine Justdial posted a 37.5% rise in net profit to INR 71.8 Cr in the September quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 52.2 Cr in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The company’s operating revenue continued to witness strong growth, rising 27% to INR 260.6 Cr from INR 205.3 Cr in the year-ago quarter.
However, on a sequential basis, Justdial’s net profit declined almost 14% from INR 83.4 Cr reported in the prior quarter – Q1 FY24, as other income took a hit due to mark-to-market (MTM) losses on treasury portfolio, with bond yields rising significantly during that quarter.
While Justdial’s operating revenue grew 5.5% sequentially from INR 247 Cr, its other income declined 28.8% sequentially to INR 57.9 Cr.
The company’s other income was up 2.5% year-on-year (YoY) in Q2 FY24. Other income includes fair value gain or loss on financial instruments and profit on sale of investments.
“Slight increase in bond yields in 2Q FY24 resulted in lesser MTM gains during the quarter versus yield of maturity (YTM) of the portfolio,” Justdial said in a statement.
How Justdial Earns Revenue?
The company earns revenue primarily through paid advertisements placed by businesses on the platform, premium listing packages, add-on products, including banners, payment features, and more.
Justdial said its total active listings increased 18.6% YoY and 5.8% sequentially to 40.2 Mn as on September 30, 2023.
On the other hand, its active paid campaigns at the end of Q2 stood at 5.61 Lakh, up 11.3% YoY.
Total traffic for Q2 FY24 stood at 171.7 Mn, up 9.7% YoY. The company said that 86.1% of its total traffic originated on mobile platforms, 10.5% on desktop and PCs, and 3.4% on its voice platform.
Justdial also had a deferred revenue element, which stood at INR 468 Cr in the quarter under review, up 23.6% YoY.
Its total collections in Q2 FY24 increased 20.8% YoY to INR 278.4 Cr, Justdial said.
Zooming Into Expenses
On the expenditure front, the company spent INR 226.4 Cr in total in the quarter under review, which jumped 14.6% from INR 197.5 Cr posted in Q2 FY23.
In that, employee benefit expenses accounted for the largest portion at INR 185.4 Cr in Q2 FY24 as against INR 162.5 Cr in the prior year’s quarter.
However, the company’s employee cost as a percentage of operating revenue declined to 71.2% in the quarter under review from 78% in the year-ago quarter.
Justdial’s depreciation and amortisation expense increased to INR 12.2 Cr in Q2, up 58.4% YoY
Justdial reported its Q2 financial statement after market hours on Friday (October 20). Its shares ended the last session of the week 0.9% lower at INR 753.2 on BSE.
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