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Doorstep service provider Urban Company expects its operation in the UAE to become profitable soon, while other international markets, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, may need more time, a senior company official said on Friday.

While speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit, Urban Company Co-founder, Abhiraj Bhal, said the foray in international markets takes focus away from the India market and advised startups to do “reasonable justice to India before venturing out.”

“UAE was our first market outside of India. We have been there for about five years and we have done fairly well there. Market is also at the brink of profitability. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Singapore are a much younger market for us, still in investment mode,” Bhal said.

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Urban Company co-founders (from left to right): Abhiraj Bhal, Raghav Chandra, and Varun Khaitan

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He said India is a huge market and is growing faster than any other market.

It is challenging for a company to set up business in a “do it yourself market” like the West but the business has been successful in countries that have a cultural orientation of “do it for me”, he added.

Earlier, Urban Company said it has turned profitable at the profit-before-tax level, Bhal shared on LinkedIn. He clarified that Urban Company’s India business had previously achieved profitability, but its investments in the overseas markets had kept the consolidated business in the red.

However, now India’s profitability offsets the overseas losses, marking the consolidated business profitable at the PBT level.

Bhal shed light on the company’s future plans. The startup will focus on “growing the business profitably and sustainably, while prioritising the interests of all stakeholders: customers, service partners, employees, and shareholders.”