Internet conglomerate Info Edge India reported a consolidated income of Rs 2,029.4 crore in FY22, growing 59 percent on a year-on-year basis.
The company also reported a profit of Rs 12,882 crore in FY22, which was nine times its FY21 profit.
Say what?
Yes. The staggering profit was because of an exceptional item of Rs 9,511.6 crore—largely the gains from its stake sale in foodtech company Zomato, when it listed on the stock markets in July 2021.
Info Edge India was the first institutional investor in Zomato in 2010 when the startup was still known as Foodiebay.
Ergo, Rs 8,941 crore came from a gain on fair valuation of the Zomato investment. And, another Rs 357 crore from the gain on sale of the same investment. It was that kind of year for Info Edge India, which continues to be invested in Zomato.
On the operations front?
Info Edge’s core business–recruitment solutions–is led by the Naukri brand, which contributed 74 percent of its income from operations. That’s Rs 1,154 crore of Info Edge’s operational revenue of Rs 1,562 crore in FY22.
The operating profit of its recruitment business was Rs 652 crore in FY22, growing by 58 percent.
“We are experiencing strong tailwinds in recruitment and real estate verticals,” said Hitesh Oberoi, CEO and Managing Director, Info Edge India.
“Post pandemic, the gap between supply and demand of skills has increased globally. We expect this trend to continue in mid to long term, and will create demand for platforms like Naukri,” he added.
In all, Info Edge’s operating profit on a standalone basis grew 65 percent to Rs 589 crore in FY22.
Info Edge continues to invest…
Info Edge India has two other well-known brands, namely 99Acres (properties classifieds) and JeevanSathi (matrimonial classifieds).
99Acres clocked revenue of Rs 217 crore in FY22, growing 25 percent over the previous year. But its loss grew by 2.5 times in the same period to Rs nearly 90 crore.
What about Q4 of FY22?
On a standalone basis, Info Edge grew its Q4 FY22 revenue by nearly 46 percent over the same quarter a year ago. It reported Rs 497.6 crore in Q4 FY22, which was also 8.4 percent higher sequentially.
Its net profit for Q4 FY22 was Rs 120.7 crore—1.7 times the profit a year ago.
How did the markets react?
It’s been positive today. Info Edge India announced its results after market hours on May 27, 2022. Compared to its closing price on Friday of Rs 3,693.65 on the BSE, the Info Edge India stock opened at Rs 3,735 and touched a high of Rs 3,863 today.
