Yatra Online Inc, the operator of travel portal Yatra.com, reported a 45.6% increase in net revenue for the quarter ended 31 December 2017 but its adjusted operating loss widened.
Revenue after excluding service costs, or net revenue, for the October-December quarter increased to Rs 195.8 crore from Rs 134.5 crore a year earlier, the online travel services provider said in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company’s revenue from the air ticketing business increased 46% from a year earlier to Rs 137 crore, thanks to higher bookings after it acquired corporate travel services provider Air Travel Bureau Ltd (ATB) in July last year. Net revenue from the hotels and packages business jumped 47% to Rs 43.7 crore.
However, the online travel services provider’s EBITDA loss expanded to Rs 38.8 crore from Rs 18.7 crore a year earlier. EBITDA is short for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. The loss widened after the company excluded the impact of exceptional items and gains from the change in the fair value of warrants issued as part of its reverse merger with US-based Terrapin 3 Acquisition Corp to list on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2016.
“Our multi-channel approach and the resultant symbiotic relationship between our corporate and consumer direct businesses continue to deliver well for us. We have taken great strides on our technology platform for both our retail and corporate customers. This is an exciting time for Yatra, as we believe the combination of strong economic growth and consumer demand at the macro level and our own unique approach at the company level will help us maintain a strong growth rate over the longer term,†said Yatra’s co-founder and chief executive Dhruv Shringi.
Yatra’s marketing and sales promotion expenses increased by 65.9% to Rs 103 crore in the three-month period from Rs 62.0.croe the year before, primarily on account of brand marketing campaigns, consumer promotions and loyalty incentive programmes and the impact of consolidation of ATB.
Yatra was founded in 2006 by former Ebookers Group (UK) executives Shringi, Manish Amin and Sabina Chopra. Amin is chief information officer and Chopra is executive vice president of operations.
The company is backed by a string of venture capital, private equity and strategic investors. In October last year, it sold a small stake to Reliance Industries Ltd as part of a deal linked to an existing partnership where Reliance pre-installed the Yatra mobile app in its LYF-branded 4G handsets.
In September last year, the company raised $15.4 million (Rs 100 crore) in venture debt from InnoVen Capital India Pvt. Ltd.
In July, media conglomerate Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd had sold its equity-convertible warrants in Yatra Online, Inc. for Rs 39 crore.
The company had posted a 33% jump in revenue for the quarter ended 30 September driven by growth in the hotel segment. Revenues excluding service cost increased 46.1% year on year to Rs 168.9 crore.
