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Informist, Thursday, May 21, 2026

By Shakshi Jain

NEW DELHI – Consumer internet company Info Edge (India) Ltd. is expected to post a high single-digit sequential decline in its adjusted net profit for the March quarter, despite a marginal rise in its revenue, due to slower billings growth in the core recruitment solutions business, sustained investments, and higher marketing spends, according to analysts. 

If analysts' consensus estimates hold, the company's bottom line would decline sequentially for a second consecutive quarter and the top line growth would be the weakest in nine quarters. 

The company is expected to report a standalone adjusted net profit of INR 2.69 billion for the March quarter, according to the average of estimates from six brokerages. This would mean a sequential decline of almost 9%, excluding the exceptional item reported for the December quarter. On a year-on-year basis, however, this implies a growth of almost 9%. The highest net profit estimate is INR 2.9 billion by HDFC Securities Ltd. and the lowest is INR 2.49 billion by Batlivala & Karani Securities India Pvt. Ltd. 

The company's standalone revenue for the reporting quarter is expected to rise 1.2% sequentially and almost 13% on year to INR 7.74 billion, as per the average of the estimates. The highest revenue estimate is INR 7.93 billion by HDFC Securities Ltd. and the lowest is INR 7.62 billion by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

For the December quarter, the company had reported a net profit of INR 2.46 billion on revenue of INR 7.65 billion. Excluding the one-time cost reported on account of the new labour codes, the company's net profit for Oct-Dec would have been roughly INR 2.95 billion, not counting the change in tax. In the year-ago quarter, Info Edge's adjusted net profit stood at INR 2.47 billion and its revenue was INR 6.87 billion.

Info Edge's standalone billings in the March quarter rose over 7% on year to INR 10.57 billion, the company said in an exchange filing last month. Billings in the recruitment solutions business rose around 10% to INR 8.11 billion during the quarter and billings in its real estate business, 99 acres, were up almost 2% on year at INR 1.63 billion, according to the provisional numbers disclosed by the company.

Info Edge's core recruitment billing growth slowed down in Jan-Mar due to the slowdown in the information technology sector and uncertainties tied to the West Asia war, HDFC Securities said. "The IT sector remains slow, with GCC (global capability centres) clocking strong growth. Other sectors like BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance) and manufacturing are witnessing low double-digit growth."

Info Edge operates online businesses in multiple categories. It offers recruitment services through Naukri, which is its largest business segment. It is present in the real estate space through 99acres, in the education space through Shiksha, and provides matchmaking services through the Jeevansathi platform.

MARGIN DIP

Info Edge is expected to report INR 3.07 billion in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation for the March quarter, according to the average of five estimates. The highest EBITDA estimate is INR 3.30 billion by Centrum Broking Ltd. and the lowest is INR 2.88 billion by Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd. In the December quarter, the company had registered an operating profit of INR 2.97 billion alongside a margin of 38.9%.

Centrum Broking anticipates a 45-basis point decline in EBITDA margin of the company for the March quarter due to a higher marketing cost. Brokerage Motilal Oswal attributed the anticipated decline in margin to continued investments. 

HDFC Securities expects the recruitment solutions business margin to contract by 33 bps on quarter to 59% for Jan-Mar due to slower billings growth but limited by a lower advertising spend. "Recruitment margins will be >60% only when billing growth exceeds 15% YoY," it added.

In FY26, the company's standalone billings were up more than 10% on year at INR 31.78 billion, according to the provisional numbers. Billings in recruitment solutions grew 10% on year to INR 23.74 billion during the year, while the real estate business registered more than 10% on-year growth in billings to INR 4.97 billion.

Info Edge will announce its March-quarter results on Friday. Market participants will watch out for management commentary on investee companies, hiring in the IT sector, and performance of 99acres, among others.

Thursday, shares of Info Edge closed 1.7% lower at INR 926.25 on the National Stock Exchange. The stock is down 18% since the company reported its December quarter results. It is also down over 40% from its 52-week high of INR 1,550, recorded on Jun. 10.

Of the eight research reports on Info Edge available with Informist, six have a "buy" recommendation on the stock, one has a "hold" call, and one has a "sell" recommendation. The average target price of the "buy" recommendations is INR 1,498, nearly 62% higher than Thursday's closing price.

Following are the Jan-Mar earnings estimates for Info Edge, in INR billion, from six brokerages in descending order of the net profit estimate:

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Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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