Post listing on Nasdaq in August, it has been exciting times for makemytrip.com. The company announced it?s first results for the September 2010 quarter, clocking a revenue of $23.8 million, a 40.5% increase. Founder & CEO Deep Kalra tells FE?s Vishakha Talreja about Nasdaq listing, acquisition plans and more.
Have the results been up to your expectations?
Yes, they have been as expected. Our top line has witnessed 40.5% y-o-y growth and adjusted operating profit is around $0.48 million against $0.18 million in the same quarter last year. Margins have improved. Second quarter is a lean season for travel, so these numbers are reflection of the success of our initiatives. Though loss is $1.8 million against a profit of $0.02 million last year, it can be attributed to IPO expenses.
You had stated that the IPO money will be used for acquisitions.
Yes. Most of our $54 million net IPO proceeds will be spent on acquisitions. We are in talks with shortlisted firms. We will probably announce an acquisition by March. We are looking at domestic and foreign companies focusing on Indian consumers. We would like to acquire a company in the travel technology space or a regional player.
Post listing, how has the company emerged, especially in the global arena?
The peer group has suddenly changed. We are now counted in the league of PriceLine, Expedia and Ctrip. Operationally it helps too. For instance, it was difficult to even get an appointment with the social media companies but now they are more than happy to meet us. Global visibility helps.
Why did you chose Nasdaq for your IPO?
We went about it clinically. The US has the maximum number of consumer internet companies, more than the UK and India. Once we chose the US, Nasdaq was a natural choice. Since so many internet companies are listed there investors understand the business and have an appetite for the internet stocks.
You rely heavily on air ticket sales against other products. Are you looking at better margins from non-air products?
Three fourth of our business comes from air tickets and remaining from hotels and other emerging categories. We are pushing hotel sales by bundling it with flights and also bus tickets. Not only through our online but offline channels also.
What plans do you have for your user generated content website oktatabyebye? Tata Sons has filed a case against it for infringement of their Tata name.
We plan to pump in more money and are in talks with social media companies. The case is subjudice in Indian courts. Our argument is that oktatabyebye is a generic term, it’s written behind all Indian trucks. However, we can’t comment much at this stage as the case is still in the courts.