Oyo posts maiden profitable year with Rs 100 cr PAT in FY24: Ritesh Agarwal

Agarwal, in a post on social media platform X, added that he expects growth not just in India, but in other key markets like the Nordics, South East Asia, the US, and the UK as well

Oravel Stays, the parent company of hospitality major Oyo, became profitable for the first time in a financial year, posting a profit-after-tax (PAT) of Rs 99.6 crore ($12 million) in 2023-24, said Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ritesh Agarwal.

Agarwal, in a post on X, said he expects growth in not just India, but other key markets like Nordics, South East Asia, the US and the UK.

“We had our maiden net profitable financial year at nearly Rs 100 crore. This was our eighth consecutive quarter of positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda), and we also have a cash balance of about Rs 1,000 crore,” his post read.

 

Agarwal had previously, in a town hall on May 22, said he expects travel trends (premiumisation, spiritual travel) to spur growth not only in India but other destinations (Nordics, South East Asia, the US and the UK) as well.

In March, Business Standard reported that Oyo was looking to clock Rs 100 crore in FY24 PAT. Agarwal had, in an internal review meeting, attributed the growth in profits to steady top-line growth and improved user confidence.

After becoming net profitable in the second quarter of FY24, Oyo has been recording bottom-line growth each quarter. The company had marked its maiden profitable quarter with a PAT of over Rs 16 crore in Q2FY24 which doubled to around Rs 30 crore in Q3.

The firm clocked an adjusted Ebitda of Rs 888 crore (around $107 million) for FY24, up from Rs 274 crore (around $33 million) in FY23. In FY24, the company added about 5,000 hotels and 6,000 homes globally. The gross booking value (GBV) per storefront per month for hotels stood at Rs 332,000 (roughly $4,000).

The travel tech platform’s gross margins improved, reaching Rs 2,508 crore (around $302 million), up from Rs 2,350 crore (around $283 million) in FY23, and operating costs also improved, decreasing from 19 per cent of GBV in FY23 to 14 per cent in FY24.

Global rating agency Fitch recently upgraded Oravel Stays’ long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings to 'B' from 'B-'. The rating agency has also upgraded Oyo’s senior secured term loan facility to 'B' from 'B-', citing the company's improving financial profile driven by sustained Ebitda growth and a recent $195-million debt buyback.