Oravel Stays, which operates travel-tech platform Oyo, recorded a net profit of about Rs 30 crore in the third quarter of FY24. This was 87.5% higher than the Rs 16-crore profit it posted in Q2, its first profitable quarter.
Oyo optimised its operating costs by 15% in Q3, compared with the same-period a year ago, aiding its profit growth.
Founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal said in an employee townhall that the company’s revenue grew by about 10% on year during the quarter, but did not disclose absolute figures.
In FY23, the revenue from operations had stood at Rs 5,463 crore, up 14% from the previous year.
The company now expects to record an adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation) of Rs 1,000 crore in FY24, compared with its earlier estimate of Rs 800 crore. In FY23 – when the company had achieved operational profitability – adjusted Ebitda was about Rs 275 crore.
“In the upcoming quarters, we anticipate a consistent rise in PAT (profit after tax), driven by enhanced patron confidence, improved customer experience, and favourable market conditions conducive to sustained growth,” Agarwal told employees.
The number of hotels on Oyo’s platform also increased by about 27% to 17,000 over the last year, Agarwal said.
Oyo also concluded a debt buyback of Rs 1,620 crore, which involved the repurchase of 30% of the company’s outstanding term loan B due June 2026.
Oyo is also gearing up to launch 400 properties in places such as Ayodhya, Puri, Shirdi, Varanasi, Amritsar, Tirupati, Haridwar, Katra-Vaishno Devi, and the Char Dham route by the end of this 2024, in its bid to expand in popular spiritual spots in India.