Just Dial gains as Q4 profit up 60% to Rs 34.15Cr; mobile-based search rises 126%

Mumbai-based Just Dial Ltd, which runs the online business directory Justdial.com, has said that its net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 increased over 60 per cent to Rs 34.15 crore at a net profit margin of 25 per cent. Also, operating revenue for the quarter rose 26 per cent to Rs 124.21 crore from Rs 98.27 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Operating EBIDTA in Q4 also saw an increase of 37 per cent to Rs 37.38 crore, while operating EBIDTA margin increased 30 per cent, compared with 28 per cent last year.

"We have delivered a solid performance on all financial metrics—revenue, margins and profit. We are quite excited about the trends we have witnessed in the latest quarter and are confident of the growth prospects of Just Dial in the coming year. With the launch of several search plus services, we are poised for greater engagement with the user community," said VSS Mani, MD & CEO of Just Dial.

Operational performance

Total searches on Just Dial platform increased 38 per cent to 290.4 million from 210.8 million last year. While searches via mobile rose 126 per cent, PC-based searches increased 24 per cent and SMS/Voice searches grew 5 per cent.

As of March 31 this year, Just Dial was conducting over 262,150 campaigns for its paid advertisers, compared with 206,500 campaigns as of March 31 last year, representing a year-on-year growth of 27 per cent.

As of March 31, 2014, the company's database consisted of around 11.8 million listings compared with 9.1 million as of March 31 last year, representing a y-o-y growth of 30 per cent.

Currently, Just Dial offers more than 17 search plus services on its platform.

The firm also launched a reverse auction for branded goods, which will enable users/buyers to discover the best price for any branded goods on a real-time basis.

Just Dial launched JD maps during the quarter replacing Google maps for directions on the Just Dial platform.

Last month, the firm added bus ticket booking service to its platform. It said it will soon come up with other services, including flight and train ticket booking services.

The stock hit a high of Rs 1,153 and a low of Rs 1,102.65 by noon on Tuesday.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)