Visa consultancy firm BLS International crosses $1 bn in market cap

Delhi-based company says its business gained after countries eased travel restrictions for Covid-19

BLS International, which provides technology and consulting for visa and government services, said on Thursday it has crossed $1 billion in market cap, fueled by its digital division and new contracts in Q2 of Financial Year 2022-23 (FY23).

The Delhi-based company said that the recovery of its visa and consular business and new contracts led to revenue growth in Q2. The company recorded 87 per cent year-over-year growth in the operating revenue in Q2 of FY22.

Founded in 2005, the company offers services to governments and embassies around the world. Its offerings include tech-enabled services for visa, passport, consular, citizen, e-governance, attestation, biometric, e-visa, and retail solutions. It has contracts with Thailand’s embassies in Mumbai and Kenya to provide visa services. It processes German visas in North America and Mexico.

“As the travel guidelines imposed during the pandemic were eased and the company’s visa business revenues increased because of revenge travel. BLS is working with multiple Governments/ Embassies such as Brazil, Spain, Italy, Hungary, USA, Canada, Estonia, Lebanon, Portugal, Vietnam, Morocco, Belarus, France, UAE, etc.,” BLS said in a press note.

The revenue increased 70.6 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 630 crore in the first half of FY23. Consolidated profit after tax increased by 71 per cent YoY to Rs 81.69 crore. The Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) margin improved to 14.0 per cent from 12.56 per cent in the first half of FY22, the company said.

“We are well above pre-COVID levels, and once business recovers from key markets such as China and Russia, the ongoing growth from the other regions would be further complemented. We shall continue focusing on spreading our reach far and wide with prudent emphasis on organic as well as inorganic growth which meets our internal rate of return threshold,” said Shikhar Aggarwal, joint managing director of BLS International Services as he announced the company’s results.

The company acquired Zero Mass Pvt Ltd, a business correspondent outsourcing company in June 2022.  “Following our recent acquisition of ZMPL, our BC and e-Governance businesses are sizable enough to demand more focus. We see tremendous growth opportunities in these lines of businesses, especially from value-added services,” Aggarwal said.