Info Edge Q1 FY26 Conference Call Highlights

Info Edge (India) Limited is a leading Indian internet company operating popular online platforms across recruitment, real estate, matrimony, and education. Its flagship portal, Naukri.com, dominates the online job market, while 99acres.com, Jeevansathi.com, and Shiksha.com cater to property listings, matchmaking, and education guidance respectively. With strong cash reserves and investments in AI-driven innovation, Info Edge continues to expand its market leadership and diversify into high-growth digital verticals.

Overall Financial Highlights – Standalone

Info Edge delivered a stable yet somewhat moderated performance in Q1 FY26 amid a challenging macroeconomic environment.

• Billings: ₹644 crore, up 11% YoY. Including Zwayam and DoSelect acquisitions, billings rose to ₹665 crore (+12%).
• Revenue: ₹736 crore (+15% YoY); including acquisitions, ₹757 crore (+16%).
• Operating Profit: ₹250 crore, a 10% YoY growth, reflecting controlled cost management despite elevated marketing investments. Operating margin stood at 34%, slightly softer due to ad spends and slower recruitment billing growth.
• Cash from Operations: ₹180 crore. The recruitment vertical remained the primary cash engine with ₹196 crore, while non-recruitment businesses had a negative cash flow of ₹11 crore.
• EPS: ₹4 (post stock split), up 11% YoY.
• Cash Balance: A robust ₹4,828 crore as on June 30, 2025, ensuring strategic investment flexibility even in uncertain conditions.
• Headcount: 6,174 employees, reflecting continued hiring to support business expansion.

Segment-Wise Performance Table

Segment	Billings (₹ Cr)	Billings YoY %	Revenue (₹ Cr)	Revenue YoY %	Operating Profit/Loss (₹ Cr)	Operating Margin %	Cash from Operations (₹ Cr)
Recruitment (Naukri, IIMJobs, Hirist, Naukri Gulf, Job Hai, Fast Forward)	470	9	542	15	284	53.0	196
Real Estate (99acres)	94	17	111	12	-19	—	-20
Matrimony (Jeevansathi)	35	36	34	29	0	0.0	6
Education (Shiksha)	45	8	50	19	6	—	2

Expanded Segment Commentary

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1. Recruitment (Core Naukri & Adjacent Platforms)

The recruitment segment remains Info Edge’s powerhouse, contributing over 70% of total billings and driving profitability.

• Performance: Billings grew by 9% YoY to ₹470 crore, revenue by 15% YoY to ₹542 crore, with a strong operating margin of 53%.
• Drivers & Challenges:
  • Growth moderated compared to mid-to-high teens in previous quarters, due to macroeconomic uncertainty, sector-specific slowdowns, and client contract deferrals, especially in the final days of the quarter (a critical billing period).
  • BFSI, IT services, BPM, infrastructure, and recruitment consultants showed low single-digit growth.
  • GCCs, technology companies, retail, healthcare, and manufacturing maintained double-digit growth.
• Platform Strength: Naukri added 26,000 new resumes per day, growing the database to 108 million profiles. Recruiter engagement remained high with strong CV search and view metrics.
• Niche Businesses:
  • IIMJobs: +41% YoY billings.
  • Hirist: +18% YoY, targeting premium tech talent.
  • Naukri Gulf: +15% YoY, strengthening presence in the Middle East job market.
  • Job Hai: Early-stage premium model for blue/grey-collar jobs, focused on select cities, delivering rapid revenue growth from a small base.
• Marketing Strategy: Significant investments in IPL branding, emerging city penetration, and scaling smaller verticals. These are partly seasonal, with expectations for annual spend to remain broadly in line with FY25.

2. Real Estate (99acres)

The real estate portal saw seasonal softness but still delivered strong YoY growth, underpinned by market share gains.

• Performance: Billings up 17% to ₹94 crore; revenue up 12% to ₹111 crore. Operating loss of ₹19 crore; cash loss of ₹20 crore.
• Growth Drivers:
  • Increase in billed customers and higher average billing per client.
  • Faster growth from brokers and channel partners versus developers.
• Listing Growth:
  • New projects: +17% YoY.
  • Resale & rental listings: +29% YoY from brokers.
• Platform Metrics: App/web traffic grew steadily, driving inquiries across categories.
• Strategic Focus: Continued investment in marketing to attract both buyers and sellers, platform enhancements for informed decision-making in both primary and secondary markets.

3. Matrimony (Jeevansathi)

Jeevansathi achieved a major milestone in Q1 – breaking even at the operating level.

• Performance: Billings grew 36% to ₹35 crore, revenue up 29% to ₹34 crore, with ₹6 crore positive cash flow.
• Growth Strategy:
  • Stronghold in Hindi-speaking regions.
  • Monetization improvements and AI-driven personalization to boost matchmaking quality.
  • Marketing spend maintained in the ₹12–15 crore quarterly range to sustain visibility.
• AI Integration: Applied to creative development, pricing algorithms, and user engagement optimization.

4. Education (Shiksha)

Shiksha maintained profitability despite competitive and market headwinds.

• Performance: Billings up 8% to ₹45 crore; revenue up 19% to ₹50 crore; operating profit ₹6 crore; cash from operations ₹2 crore.
• Market Dynamics:
  • Domestic education growth driven by new private universities expanding beyond engineering.
  • Declining interest in US study abroad due to higher visa rejection rates and weaker job prospects; shift toward UK and continental Europe.
• Challenges: AI search tools from Google and chatbots diverting organic traffic from content-based platforms.

AI Initiatives Across the Company

Management is aggressively embedding AI across functions:

1. Enhancing Search & Personalization: Improved recruiter productivity in Naukri; AI-based job recommendations have boosted seeker engagement by 15–20% YoY.
2. New AI-powered Features: Enriching user experience across platforms with smarter matching and filtering.
3. Product Innovation & Monetization: Exploring new business lines using AI capabilities.
4. Operational Efficiency: Using GenAI for marketing content, creative development, and in-house campaign generation.

Consolidated Highlights

• Net Sales: ₹791 crore vs ₹677 crore YoY.
• Total Comprehensive Income: ₹7,918 crore vs ₹3,583 crore (boosted by fair value changes in investments).
• PBT (ex-exceptional): ₹436 crore vs ₹329 crore.

Management Takeaways

• Recruitment remains resilient despite slower billings growth; strong engagement metrics indicate underlying demand stability.
• Non-recruitment businesses steadily reducing cash burn while gaining share.
• Ample cash reserves provide a competitive advantage to keep investing through market softness.
• AI investments are central to long-term differentiation and efficiency.

Question and Answer Session Highlights

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Q: Impact of AI on demand and client conversations, especially with IT services and GCC clients?
A: Too early to attribute slowdown solely to AI; macro events like geopolitical tensions and US demand softness also played a role. Some sectors like GCCs, healthcare, retail doing well; BFSI, IT services, infrastructure softer. July collections improved (19% growth), but sustainability uncertain.

Q: Can pricing be differentiated for premium vs mass-market talent?
A: Possible; already seeing higher demand for premium talent. Could introduce tiered credit pricing for CV views based on salary bands, but decision deferred until trends stabilize.

Q: Ad spend strategy – is the FMCG-like intensity permanent?
A: Varies by business.

• Naukri: 8–10% of revenue currently, could be cut if needed.
• Heavy investment continues in 99acres and Jeevansathi for market share gains.
• Shiksha spend small; focus on building new funnels amid AI search impact.

Q: Billing slowdown in Naukri – segment insights?
A: Moderation in consultants, IT services, BPM, BFSI, infra; GCCs, tech, retail, healthcare, manufacturing strong. GCC billing growth ~17% in Q1.

Q: Is marketing spend linked to growth slowdown?
A: In core Naukri, no – job seeker supply is sufficient. Spend is focused on building blue-collar (Job Hai), Naukri Gulf, Hirist, IIMJobs, and local marketing in new cities. In 99acres/Jeevansathi, spend remains high due to strong ROI and market share capture.

Q: AI bots’ competitive impact on Naukri/99acres?
A: No major impact yet; Shiksha and AmbitionBox seeing some effect.

Q: Client deferments – concentrated in certain segments?
A: Mainly IT services, consultants, and large customers.

Q: Pricing action levers ahead?
A: Easier in strong hiring markets; will wait for demand pickup.

Q: Marketing CAGR 20–25% in Naukri over 2 years – why?
A: Three buckets: branding (e.g., IPL), performance marketing (for CV acquisition), and new initiative marketing (Job Hai, Hirist, IIMJobs, Naukri Gulf). Branding can be skipped if needed; other two continue strategically.

Q: Non-IT slowdown reason?
A: Uncertainty led companies to pause hiring late in quarter; BFSI, infra softer, while other sectors held up.

Q: July growth sustainability?
A: Some growth due to deferred collections; Naukri hardest to predict, while 99acres/Jeevansathi more stable.

Q: Margin maintenance at slower billing growth?
A: FY26 margins unlikely to be hit due to revenue spillover; prolonged low growth could impact FY27.

Q: Will slow growth lead to spend cuts?
A: Branding may be cut; strategic growth investments (AI, blue collar, fast-growing niches) will continue.

Q: Marketing spend limits?
A: No cap for 99acres/Jeevansathi if ROI strong; Naukri could hold flat vs last year if growth slows.

Q: Will Info Edge monetize investments like Zomato after Ant Financial exit?
A: Decision based on future growth potential vs immediate value maximization; no current plans announced.