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  • CMP : 1,333.7 Chg : -4.50 (-0.34%)
  • Target : 5,230.0 (18.03%)
  • Target Period : 12 Month

14 Aug 2022

Firing on all cylinders…

About The Stock

Info Edge provides internet based service delivery like recruitment services (Naukri), real estate (99 acres), Jeevansathi and Shiksha.

  • Quasi play on Indian start up like Zomato, PolicyBazaar, Shoekonect, Ustra, Gramophone and job market, matrimony services & real estate market
  • Prudent capital allocation and recruitment business EBITDA margin >50%
Q1FY23 Results

Info Edge reported strong Q1FY23 results.

  • Revenues increased 11.4% QoQ aided by recruitment business growth of 12.4% QoQ
  • EBITDA margin improved 400 bps QoQ to 32.1%
  • Continued to remain invested in Zomato & PolicyBazaar despite lock in for pre-IPO investors expiring
What should Investors do?

Info Edge’s share price has grown by ~4.6x over the past five years (from ~₹ 956 in August 2017 to ~₹ 4,431 levels in August 2022).

  • We maintain BUY rating on the stock
Target Price and Valuation

We value Info Edge at ₹ 5,230 on SOTP basis.

Key Triggers for future price performance
  • Improving hiring trend in IT, healthcare, education, telecom and improving billing trend to drive recruitment revenues
  • Continued pent up demand in housing as well as rental market driving 99acres revenues despite increasing home interest rates. Traction in Jeevansathi, Shiksha to further drive revenues
  • Expect revenues to grow at a CAGR of 20.2% over FY22-24E
Alternate Stock Idea

Apart from Info Edge, in IT coverage we also like Affle India.

  • Key beneficiary of a shift of advertising budget to digital medium, continued strong growth in converted users
  •  BUY with a target price of ₹ 1,295

Key Financial Summary

Particulars FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 5 year CAGR (FY17-22) FY23E FY24E 2 Year CAGR (FY22-FY24E)
Net Sales 1,098.3 1,272.7 1,128.0 1,562.5 14.3 1,951.1 2,256.3 20.2
EBITDA 341.3 402.7 302.0 463.7 15.3 647.1 762.8 28.3
EBITDA margins (%) 31.1 31.6 26.8 29.7 - 33.2 33.8 -
Net Profit 315.1 329.0 298.6 440.4 16.1 615.1 698.1 25.9
EPS (|) 25.9 26.8 23.0 34.2 - 47.8 54.2 -
P/E 171.2 165.4 194.3 6.4 - 92.8 81.7 -
RoNW (%) 13.6 13.5 6.5 3.2 - 4.3 4.7 -
RoCE (%) 18.6 18.0 8.2 4.2 - 5.7 6.3 -
Source: Company, ICICI Direct Research

Key takeaways of recent quarter & conference call highlights

  • The company reported strong revenue growth of 11.4% QoQ, 58.8% YoY to | 507.7 crore while revenue including acquired business (Zwayam & DoSelect) was | 521 crore, up 58.7% YoY. Revenue for recruitment business increased 12.4% QoQ, 73.9%YoY to | 387.1 crore while that of 99 acres increased 8.3% QoQ, 34.9% YoY to | 66.3 crore. Jeevansathi revenue dip 9.8% QoQ, 9.1% YoY to | 22.9 crore while Shiksha revenue reported robust growth of 28% QoQ & 37.3% YoY to | 31.3 crore

 

  • EBITDA increased 27.4% QoQ to | 163.1 crore while margins improved 400 bps QoQ to 32.1% due to 9.5% QoQ decline in promotional expenses as well as strong revenue growth. EBITDA margins for recruitment business declined marginally by 30 bps QoQ at 58.2%. EBITDA loss at 99 acres widened marginally to | 35.4 crore while EBITDA loss for Jeevansathi has come down to | 27.6 crore due to change of strategy wherein the company started offering some features complimentary vs. paid earlier. The company reported EBITDA of | 6.2 crore in Shiksha vertical

 

  • For the quarter, billing at the company level continue to be strong and improved 66.8% YoY to | 524.1 crore. Billing at the Naukri business was up 64.6% YoY to | 415 crore while that of Jeevansathi declined 29.9% YoY to | 17.6 crore. Billing for 99 acres was up 172.8% to | 61.1 crore on a YoY basis on a favourable base. Shiksha reported growth of 5.9% QoQ to | 30.4 crore

 

  • The company’s deferred revenue increased 62.8% YoY to | 825.3 crore. Recruitment business reported deferred revenue growth of 68.8% YoY to
    | 695.1 crore while 99 acres & others (Jeevansathi & Shiksha) reported increase of 63% & 1.5% YoY, respectively, to | 30.4 crore

 

  • The company indicated that the recruitment business witnessed strong hiring across sectors. Info Edge indicated that continued high attrition, healthy deal pipeline & elevated fresher hiring is driving the IT sector hiring, which contributes about 35.9% revenue of recruitment business. Apart from IT sector, the company indicated that it has witnessed increased traction in the education & health verticals, which have seen very strong growth mirroring IT sector. BFSI and insurance also reported healthy growth. Info Edge also indicated that it is witnessing a revival in retail, travel & tourism sector hiring as Covid impact got minimised. The management indicated that so far they do not see any impact of US recession on IT hiring. IT hiring is expected to be strong, going forward also. The company also indicated that due to strong network/traffic share as well as integration of iimjobs, it is getting better price realisations. Info Edge also indicated that start-up funding issue has no meaningful impact on its recruitment business as this category’s contribution is less than 10%. The company also indicated that the following factors will help the growth of recruitment business: i) economic growth; ii) increased pricing from clients; iii) addition of new clients; iv) new products & platforms growing at rapid pace

 

  • The company indicated that it is witnessing robust growth in the real estate vertical despite rising home loan interest rates as well as on the rental category. Info Edge also indicated that the third Covid wave had negligible/ no impact on business. The company indicated that the advertisement & promotion expenses will remain elevated in this business as the competitive intensity continues to be high and it needs to invest to remain relevant. Info Edge indicated that it spends ~| 30-35 crore on advertisement & promotion and will continue for a few more quarters

 

  • The company had announced in the last quarter that it is changing its strategy in Jeevansathi by providing some services free of cost to consumers, which were paid earlier. Info Edge indicated that it has witnessed strong growth in traffic across the network. It is also helping to acquire new customers at a rapid pace. The company indicated that the strategy will continue for a few more quarters till they reach a certain level of network traffic share and subscriber market share. Info Edge said that after reaching that milestone they may try out certain models of monetisation, which may include advertising. The company indicated that its billing and revenues will take a hit in that period but at this point, it is willing to take that risk. Info Edge also indicated that, on the other hand, it now needs to spend less on marketing, which will improve margins, going forward

 

  • In Shiksha, the company indicated that strong growth for the quarter was on account of i) seasonality change due to Covid as now Q1 is seasonally strong quarter ii) some of its products ‘Study Abroad’ has been gaining strong traction across student looking to travel abroad for education as travelling opens

 

  • Info Edge indicated that despite lock in period for pre-IPO investors expiring now, it is not in a hurry to divest stake in Zomato and PolicyBazaar and would like to remain invested for some time on account of i) the company believing that it may fetch better value of these investments in future, ii) divestment also requires further investment into potential start-up companies that will also consume management bandwidth for which it is not yet ready
 
 
Variance Analysis
 
   Q1FY23   Q1FY23E   Q1FY22   YoY (%)   Q4FY22   QoQ (%)  Comments
Revenue 507.7 465.2 319.7 58.8 455.5 11.4 Revenue was aided by strong growth in recruitment business/ 99 acres 
Employee expenses 224.4 209.3 151.8 47.8 203.9 10.1  
Marketing expenses 87.6 100.0 45.9 90.9 96.7 -9.5  
Network & other charges 9.8 9.3 6.3 56.4 8.5 15.7  
Other expenses 22.8 23.3 16.1 41.6 18.5 23.1  
               
EBITDA 163.1 123.3 99.7 63.6 128.0 27.4  
EBITDA Margin (%) 32.1 26.5 31.2 95 bps 28.1 403 bps EBITDA margins were aided by strong revenues as well as stable marketing spends
Depreciation & amortisation 9.9 9.8 10.3 -4.2 9.7 2.3  
EBIT 153.2 113.5 89.4 71.5 118.3 29.5  
EBIT Margin (%) 30.2 24.4 28.0 223 bps 26.0 421 bps  
Other income (less interest) 41.9 37.2 41.0 2.2 42.1 -0.6  
PBT 195.1 150.7 130.3 49.7 160.4 21.6  
Tax paid 45.7 37.4 28.1 63.0 38.8 18.0  
PAT 148.4 112.3 101.0 47.0 120.7 23.0  
APAT 148.4 112.3 101.0 47.0 120.7 23.0  

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