Rediff.Com announces 2013 first quarter results

Rediff.com, one of the premier online providers of news, information, communication, entertainment and shopping services to Indians worldwide, today announced results for its first quarter ended June 30, 2013.

The company reported overall revenues for the 2013 first fiscal quarter of 4.11 million dollars, a 12 per cent increase, as compared to 3.67 million dollars reported in the 2012 first fiscal quarter.

For the three months ended June 30, 2013, the Company reported revenues from India Online of 3.37 million dollars, an increase of approximately 21 per cent over the corresponding quarter last fiscal year.

Total India revenue, which includes online advertising revenues of 2.19 million dollars and fee-based revenues of 1.18 million dollars, increased approximately 14 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2012.

Within India fee-based revenue, fees from online marketplace grew 78 per cent. Offsetting this growth were lower sales from the U.S. Publishing business, as the Company reported sales of 0.74 million dollars as compared to 0.88 million dollars for the comparable 2013 and 2012 fiscal first quarters.

"Amidst continued challenging economic conditions and the pressures of a weakening Rupee vs. the U.S. dollar, we have maintained a strong market presence throughout India and have seen many of our newer initiatives grow; particularly our online and local TV advertising business, as well as in Online Marketplace and Enterprises Email," said Ajit Balakrishnan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rediff.com.

Balakrishnan added "Our gross margins this quarter were 44 per cent, compared to 32 per cent for the same quarter last fiscal year. Additionally, in our Online Marketplace business, we successfully maintained a 12 per cent positive product margin for the quarter and we continue to add vendors and SKU's to our offering. I believe our concentrated efforts on conserving cash will take us a step closer towards profitability, especially as our margins increase and our top-line grows."

The company reported an operating EBITDA loss of 1.47 million dollars for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 as compared to an operating EBITDA loss of 2.27 million dollars in the comparable year-ago period.

Further details of Rediff.com's results for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2013 are appended in tabular form to this press release. A script of the earnings results conference call held on July 30, 2013 will also be made available on Rediff's Investor Information website at investor.rediff.com.