Policybazaar owner PB Fintech's Q3 PAT may rise 86% YoY, rev 44%: Analysts

Management commentary on growth, margins, the recent decision to foray into healthcare, and the rising competitive intensity from InsuranceDekho-RenewBuy merger will be eyed

PB Fintech, which owns and operates PolicyBazaar is all set to release its third quarter (Q3FY25) results on Thursday, January 30, 2025.

 

Brokerages tracked by Business Standard estimate the revenue of PB Fintech to grow 44.1 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), on an average, to Rs 1,255.03 crore as compared to Rs 870.9 crore a year ago. On a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis, revenue is forecasted to rise 7.5 per cent.

 

Further, PB Fintech's bottom line or profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter that ended December 31, 2024, is estimated to grow 86 per cent to Rs 70.7 crore, on average, as compared to Rs 38 crore a year ago. On a quarterly basis, the PAT is expected to grow 39.4 per cent.

 

Analysts and investors will keep an eye on management commentary on growth, margins, the recent decision to foray into healthcare, and the rising competitive intensity from the InsuranceDekho-RenewBuy merger.

Here's how analysts of various brokerages expect PB Fintech to fare in Q3:

JM Financial: Analysts at JM Financial expect the company's insurance premium to grow 42.7 per cent Y-o-Y. Loan disbursals are likely to grow 19.3 per cent Y-o-Y.

 

Policybazaar's revenue is anticipated to grow sequentially by 5.6 per cent in Q3 to Rs 1,082 crore as compared to Rs 1024.2 crore in Q2.

 

That apart, Paisabazaar's revenue is expected to grow by 3 per cent Q-o-Q to Rs 147.4 crore as compared to Rs 143 crore in Q2 with the gradual recovery of unsecured personal loans.

 

Overall, revenue growth is expected at 41.2 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 1,229.4 crore as compared to Rs 1,167.2 crore in Q2, up 5.3 per cent Q-o-Q. The company's group contribution margin is expected to reach 28 per cent as compared to 29.7 per cent in Q3FY24 and 27.3 per cent in Q2FY25.

 

Adjusted Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) are pegged at Rs 20.4 crore as compared to an Ebitda loss of Rs 25.5 crore Y-o-Y.  Meanwhile, the Ebitda margin is likely to come at 1.7 per cent which implies an improvement of around 50 basis points (bps) Y-o-Y/30 bps Q-o-Q.

 

Numava Institutional Equities: Analysts at Nuvama expect strong core platform business premium growth of over 40 per cent to drive existing business revenue growth. They anticipate margin to remain subdued as growth in health premiums is expected to remain strong and the company is investing to create capacity.

 

The brokerage expects Ebitda for the quarter under review to come at Rs 65.7 crore as compared to Rs 39 crore a year ago.

 

B&K: As per B&K, PB Fintech should continue its trajectory of healthy topline growth coupled with improving performance in terms of the bottom line.

 

The brokerage pegged the topline growth at Rs 1,228 crore as compared to Rs 870.9 crore a year ago, a rise of 41 per cent Y-o-Y. It anticipated the bottom line to grow 90 per cent to Rs 72.2 crore as compared to Rs 38 crore.

 

The brokerage expects an Ebitda margin of 1.2 per cent in Q3 as compared to -2.9 per cent a year ago.