BLS International jumps 9% on stellar June qtr show; Q1 profit rises 70%

BLS International stock in focus: Shares of BLS International rose as much as 8.6 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 379.35 per share on Tuesday, August 06, 2024. 

However, at 11:00 AM, the stocks were off highs and were trading 5.49 per cent higher at Rs 368.15 per share. In comparison, BSE Sensex was trading 0.70 per cent higher at 79,311.43 levels. 

The uptick in the stock price came after a strong show in the June quarter of financial year 2025 (Q1FY25).

The company’s profit after tax (PAT) jumped 70.1 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 120.8 crore in the June quarter of financial year 2025, from Rs 71 crore in the same quarter a year ago (Q1FY24).

 

BLS International’s revenue from operations, or topline grew 28.5 per cent annually to Rs 492.7 crore in the June quarter of FY25, from Rs 383.5 crore in the June quarter of FY24. The growth was mainly driven by the Visa & Consular business which witnessed a robust growth of 35.9 per cent Y-o-Y in revenue to reach Rs 414.1 crore.  

At the operating front, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) climbed 66.3 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 133.2 crore in the June quarter of FY25, from Rs 80.1 crore in the June quarter of FY24,. 

Consequently, Ebitda margin expanded by 615 basis points (bps) to 27 per cent for Q1FY25, as against 20.9 per cent in Q1FY24. 

Segment-wise performance

Visa & Consular Biz (Approximately 84 per cent of total revenue)

In Q1FY25, the Visa & Consular business saw a major revenue increase of 35.9 per cent Y-o-Y to  Rs 414.1 crore compared to Rs 304.8 crore in Q1 FY24. The transition from a partner-led to a self-managed business model at certain locations contributed to an impressive 70.9 per cent Y-o-Y growth in Ebitda, which rose to Rs 121.3 crore. Consequently, margin expanded 600 basis points to 29.3 per cent in Q1FY25 from 23.3 per cent in Q1FY24. The number of visa applications also grew 18 per cent during the quarter, to 8.50 lakh.

Shikhar Aggarwal, joint managing director, BLS International Services Ltd. said, “Our focused approach to increase market share globally, coupled with strong industry tailwinds, have contributed to the segment’s growth. Our on-going efforts to make our visa business operations more efficient by transitioning from the partner-run to self-managed centres at various locations enabled us to achieve higher Ebitda margin. The Ebitda margin of the Visa & Consular business witnessed an expansion of 600 bps Y-o-Y and 850 bps Q-o-Q to 29.3 per cent from 23.3 per cent in Q1FY24 and 20.8 per cent in Q4FY24.

Digital Biz (Approximately 16% of total revenue)

The Digital Business reported a slight decrease in revenue to Rs 78.5 crore in Q1FY25, down from Rs 78.7 crore in Q1 FY24. 

However, Ebitda for this segment grew 30.7 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 11.9 crore from Rs 9.1 crore in the previous year, with margins expanding to 15.2 per cent from 11.6 per cent. The Business Correspondent segment saw over 3.5 cCrore transactions, with a Gross Transaction Value (GTV) exceeding Rs 20,000 crore during the quarter. 

At the end of Q1FY25, the business operated with over 27,000 CSPs and over 110,000 touchpoints. Additionally, a Service Provider Agreement with Axis Bank led to the generation of leads worth approximately Rs 1,000 crore for Private Banks, such as HDFC and Kotak, compared to Rs 602 crore for the entire fiscal year 2024.

“The international travel industry continues to witness growth, bolstered by increased business confidence and measures that facilitate travel, as well as improved air connectivity and higher capacity. Consequently, this will drive a rise in visa application demand and presents us an opportunity to obtain additional new contracts and penetrate additional markets. In addition, we continue to focus on inorganic growth initiatives wherein we would be targeting synergistic tech-enabled businesses,” Aggarwal added.

Founded in 2005, BLS International Services Ltd. is a leading global tech-enabled services provider, renowned for its services in visa, passport, consular, citizen, e-governance, attestation, biometric, e-visa, and retail. BLS International is the second largest international visa and consular services provider. It collaborates with over 46 client governments, including diplomatic missions, embassies, and consulates, utilising advanced technology and secure processes to deliver reliable and efficient services.