Just Dial freezes at 10% upper circuit as profit soars 3x in December qtr

In Q3FY23, Just Dial's Ebitda margin improved by 400 bps QoQ aided by growth in revenue to 12.3 per cent with an Ebitda of Rs 27.3 crore while adjusted Ebitda excluding ESOP was Rs 29.4 crore.

Shares of Just Dial were locked in the 10-per cent upper circuit at Rs 643.65 on the BSE on Monday after the company reported a strong growth in December quarter (Q3FY23) earnings, posting a 7.8 per cent sequential and 39.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in revenues at Rs 221.4 crore.

A combined 1.9 million shares had chaned hands till the time of writing of this report, and there were pending buy orders for around 190,000 shares on the NSE and BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.18 per cent at 60,150.

Just Dial provides local search related services to users in India through multiple platforms such as Desktop/ PC website, mobile site, mobile apps, over the telephone, and text (SMS).

Justdial's latest version of JD App, is an All-in-One App, replete with features like Map-aided Search, Live TV, Videos, Stock quotes, etc to make the life of the consumer infinitely smoother and more engaging.

In Q3FY23, Just Dial's Ebitda (earnings before inyterest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) margin improved by 400 bps QoQ aided by growth in revenue to 12.3 per cent with an Ebitda of Rs 27.3 crore while adjusted Ebita excluding ESOP was Rs 29.4 crore. The company reported three-fold rise in PAT at Rs 75.3 crore for the quarter,  and added 615 net new employees, taking the total employee strength to 11,947.

The company said it had ramped up hiring in previous 3-4 quarters across technology, content, sales and marketing teams which resulted in higher employee expenses in recent quarters. However, operating expenses growth remained controlled in Q3FY23 and operating leverage benefits are playing out.

"Active Paid Campaigns at the end of quarter stood at 521,880, up 19.3 per cent YoY and 3.6 per cent QoQ. Continued robust paid campaigns addition of 18,040 for the quarter was led by continued focus on signing up majority of customers on monthly payment plans, Just Dial said.

That said, in the past one year, Just Dial has underperformed the market by falling 27 per cent, as compared to 1.7 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. The stock price of the company was down one-third or 33 per cent from its 52-week high level of Rs 958 touched on January 21, 2022. It had hit a 52-week low of Rs 520.30, on June 20, 2022.