Info Edge share price falls after company reveals dismal performance of Naukri.com and 99acres due to Covid19

• Its shares were down by 1.5% on Thursday.
• In a regulatory filing, Info Edge shared that Naukri’s business was growing at a steady 13% until the lockdown happened. But ever since then, things have gone downhill.
• 99acres saw a year-on-year decline in collection of ₹18 Cr in Q4FY20 and ₹9 crore in April. The lockdown created a shortfall of ₹25-30 crore said the company.
  

Info Edge’s stocks took a hit after the company revealed how the coronavirus pandemic has hit its subsidiaries – Naukri.com, 99acres. Its shares were down by 1.5% and were trading at ₹2,532 on Thursday.

With the coronavirus pandemic tightening pockets across industries, there’s a looming jobs crisis where thousands of people have already been laid off and millions of jobs continue to be at risk. With this Naukri.com, which is one of India’s top jobs listings portal, has seen a blow to its business.

In a regulatory filing, Info Edge shared that Naukri’s business was growing at a steady 13% until the lockdown happened. But ever since then, things have gone downhill.

Naukri’s India business saw a year-on-year decline of collection by ₹14 crore in the fourth quarter of FY20 and it worsened in April with a decline of ₹26 crore as compared to the same month the previous year.

“For Q4’20, pre-covid19 the growth was 13%, the lockdown slowed down the growth to zero, leading to a shortfall of collection of ₹40-44 crore (had the business grown at pre-covid growth rate),” said the company’s filing.

But Info Edge’s hit didn’t just come from its jobs section but also the real estate platform – 99acres. The real estate portal saw a year-on-year decline of collection by ₹18 Cr in Q4FY20 and ₹9 crore in April. The lockdown created a shortfall of ₹25-30 crore said the company.

While Naukri.com has always been the blockbuster property for Info Edge, the company had also been betting on real estate growth.

“Most of the properties listed today are residential real estate. Today, we don’t do too much of rental, we don’t do anything in commercial – but these are very large opportunities. Inside the categories we are in, the opportunities are huge. Real estate is 10% of the GDP of any country, that’s how big real estate is,” Info Edge CEO Hitesh Oberoi had told Business Insider in February.

Info Edge’s revenue stood at ₹320.5 crore for Q3FY20, up by 14% from the same quarter in the previous year.

However, its matrimony listings portal Jeevan Sathi’s collections saw marginal growth – by ₹4 crore in Q4FY20 and ₹1 crore in April. Revenue from its education business Shiksha.com grew slightly to ₹13.2 crore in the fourth quarter, up from ₹12.8 crore in the same quarter the previous year.


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