MakeMyTrip pares Q4 loss to $44.1-million, wary of headwinds

NEW DELHI: MakeMyTrip reported much-improved quarterly results, as the Nasdaq-listed company’s numbers were boosted by a combination of strong growth across its two primary businesses, but warned of increasing competition and global macro headwinds going forward through the rest of fiscal 2019.

For the quarter ended March 31, the company, which had a market cap of $3.20 billion as of Wednesday, reported loss of $44.1 million, or 42 cents a share, down from $73.1 million, or 93 cents a share on a diluted basis.

Personnel expenses for the fourth quarter also decreased by more than 13% to $28.4 million. Marketing and sales promotion expenses increased by19% to $93.9 million for the quarter, up from $78.8 million in the same period last year, as the company continued to spend to gain market share in a highly-fractured landscape.

Revenue for the three-month period increased by more than 31% to $157.8 million, compared to the year-ago period, as the company continued to see double-digit growth across its air ticketing and hotels and packages segments.

Q4 2018 revenue from the airticketing business increased by almost 38% to $45.3 million, compared to a year ago, while sales from its hotels and packages business increased by more than 18% to $93.4 million over the same period.

However,during its earnings call with analysts, company executives also warned of macroeconomic factors, particularly in the air travel segment, citing increasing prices of aviation fuel globally, and the strengthening dollar against the rupee that is anticipated to push up ticket prices.