Just Dial's net profit rises 45% to Rs 83.3 crore in June quarter

Local search platform Just Dial on Friday said its net profit rose over 45 per cent to Rs 83.3 crore in the June 2020 quarter.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 57.3 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a regulatory filing.

Operating revenue declined over 32 per cent to Rs 162.4 crore in the quarter under review, from Rs 240.2 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, it added.

The firm said its total traffic (unique visitors) for the quarter stood at 100 million, a drop of 35.9 per cent year-on-year and 28 per cent quarter-on-quarter. About 81 per cent traffic originated on mobile platforms, 15.6 per cent on desktop/PC and 3.4 per cent on its voice platform, it added.

Its total active listings stood at 29.6 million as on June 30, 2020, an increase of 11.9 per cent y-o-y and 0.9 per cent q-o-q. A total of 2,58,707 listings were added (net) to the database during the quarter.

"To optimise discretionary costs, the company had curtailed its advertising spends (both digital and non-digital) from April 2020. For the month of April 2020, average daily traffic declined by 48 per cent versus February 2020 (pre-COVID-19 period) levels," the company said.

For July, average daily traffic is down by 12 per cent versus February levels, it added.

"However, since majority of traffic is presently coming organically (without advertising), on a like-for-like basis, July 2020 organic traffic has surpassed pre-COVID-19 levels. Overall, for Q1 FY21 (first quarter of 2020-21), quarterly unique visitors declined 36 per cent y-o-y and 28 per cent q-o-q to 100 million visitors," it said.

In April, the company's board approved a buyback proposal worth up to Rs 220 crore at a price not exceeding Rs 700 per equity share from eligible shareholders through the tender offer route.

"The buyback is progressing on expected timelines, majority of the required approvals are in place, the record date was July 3, 2020, and the tender offer window is expected to open on August 4, 2020. The buyback is expected to be completed in another 4-5 weeks," it said.