Just Dial — Q4 FY25 earnings call

Call held 21 Apr 2025

Management summary

Just Dial reported a strong Q4 FY25 with operating revenue growing 7% YoY to INR 289.2 crores and PAT increasing 36.3% YoY to INR 157.6 crores. The company achieved a healthy EBITDA margin of 29.8% for the quarter and 29.4% for the full year, comfortably overshooting its 25% target. While top-line growth for FY25 at 9.5% was below the mid-teens aspiration, management aims to accelerate it in FY26 while maintaining strong margins, supported by initiatives like dynamic pricing and optimized sales productivity.

Highlights

  • Operating revenue of INR 289.2 crores, up 7% YoY for Q4 FY25.

  • EBITDA margin expanded to 29.8% for Q4 FY25, with absolute EBITDA growing 21.9% YoY to INR 86.1 crores.

  • PAT grew 36.3% YoY to INR 157.6 crores for Q4 FY25.

  • Full-year FY25 EBITDA grew 55% YoY, with margin at 29.4%, comfortably overshooting the 25% target.

  • Collections saw a decent 11.3% YoY jump to INR 340 crores in March quarter, and cash and investments grew 14% YoY to INR 5,279 crores.

Concerns

  • Full-year FY25 top-line growth of 9.5% fell short of the mid-teens aspiration.

  • Effective tax rate for FY25 was lower at 12% due to deferred tax reversal, expected to normalize to 20-21% in FY26.

  • Dividend/cash return policy has not yet been finalized, despite being a long-standing discussion point.

Key financials

  1. Operating Revenue ₹289.2 Cr +7%YoY
  2. EBITDA ₹86.1 Cr +21.9%YoY
  3. EBITDA Margin 29.8%
  4. Operating PBT ₹70.9 Cr +26.5%YoY
  5. PAT ₹157.6 Cr +36.3%YoY
  6. Collections ₹340 Cr +11.3%YoY
  7. Deferred Revenue ₹558 Cr +10%YoY
  8. Cash and Investments ₹5,279 Cr +14%YoY
  9. Active Paid Campaigns 6,13,290 +5.1%YoY
  10. Unique Visitors 191.3 Mn +11.8%YoY
  11. Total Listings 48.8 Mn +11.9%YoY

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue up 9.7%, net profit up 3.8% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ2 FY25Q3 FY25Q4 FY25Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue285 287 289 298 303 +6%306 +7%307 +6%327 +10%
EBITDA82 87 86 86 87 +6%95 +9%89 +3%87 +1%
Net profit154 131 158 160 119 −23%118 −10%100 −37%166 +4%
How to read this

₹ crore, as filed. The percentage beside a figure is the change against the same quarter a year earlier — never the quarter before, which would make every seasonal business look like it collapses and booms each year.

Segment breakdown

  • Top 11 Cities
    56.5% Revenue Share40% Volume Share
  • B2B
    26.5% Revenue Share20% Traffic Share
  • Tier 1 Cities
    45% Traffic Share
  • Tier 2 & 3 Cities
    55% Traffic Share

Capital allocation

high confidence
  • Liquidity Cash ₹5,279 Cr Cash and investments include debt mutual funds, fixed deposits, and tax-free bonds. INR 300 crores are specifically deployed in fixed deposits and minimal cash in current accounts (INR 3-4 crores).
    Overall, cash and investments stood at INR5,279 crores as on 31st March, growing about 14% year-on-year. So Amit, all our entire treasury is invested in debt mutual funds, fixed deposits and tax-free bonds. Simple cash in terms of, say, cash in current account is very miniscule, not more than INR3 crores, INR4 crores. Overall cash on the balance sheet, including investment stands at INR5,280 crores. Just one clarification on a query around INR300 crores showing as one of the line items on the balance sheet. So this year, since part of the cash we have started deploying in fixed deposits with banks, since there is no tax advantage in mutual funds, there is INR300 crores deployed in fixed deposits, which is what is showing as a separate line item under current assets on our balance sheet. Apart from that, cash in current accounts is very minimal.

Guidance & targets

Revenue

  • Top Line Growth Revenue · FY26 · High confidence mid-teens
    Coming to our goals for fiscal '26, the way we are looking at it is that, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, like last year, we had kept targets of growing our top line by sort of mid-teens and 25% plus margins. On one parameter, we fell a bit short and margins comfortably, we were at 29% plus versus 25%. So for fiscal '26, our endeavor will be that even at similar level of margins, we would want to accelerate our top line growth.

    — Abhishek Bansal

Profitability

  • EBITDA Margins Profitability · FY26 · High confidence similar levels as FY25 (around 29% plus)
    So for fiscal '26, our endeavor will be that even at similar level of margins, we would want to accelerate our top line growth.

    — Abhishek Bansal

Advertising Spend

  • Advertising Spend as % of Top Line Advertising Spend · current point of time · Medium confidence 2.5% to 3%

    Previously 2.2% → 2.5% to 3%

    At this point of time, we don't think that we would need to advertise that much because currently, we are primarily focusing on digital advertising. So, I would budget, say, around 2.5% to 3% of the top line at this point of time.

    — Abhishek Bansal

Tax Rate

  • Effective Tax Rate Tax Rate · FY26 · High confidence 20-21%

    From 12% (FY25) today

    While effective tax rate was lower at 12% in fiscal '25, as I just explained, it should go back to 20%, 21% levels in current fiscal, fiscal '26.

    — Abhishek Bansal

Traffic

  • Traffic Growth Traffic · foreseeable future · Medium confidence 12% to 15%
    Okay. And just one last one on your traffic growth. Now for the last 3 quarters, it has been around 12%, 15%. Would it be fair to say that you might want to increase some A&P spends to support this growth in the foreseeable future so that you stay at this current run rate, which ultimately helps your business from a volume growth perspective?

    — Abhishek Bansal

Pricing

  • Blended Price Increase Pricing · future years · Medium confidence 7% to 8%
    And a 12% to 15% traffic growth also supports that 7% to 8% kind of overall blended price increase. Obviously, price increases vary by geography, by categories, but that's the endeavor that half of the desired top line growth to materialize from the realization increase component.

    — Abhishek Bansal

Capital Allocation

  • Cash Return Policy Finalization Capital Allocation · next quarter · Medium confidence finalized
    We expect the same to be taken up sooner, most likely by next quarter, hopefully, we should be freezing on a proper capital allocation policy via most likely by dividend because that is a more tax-efficient way rather than buyback at this point of time.

    — Abhishek Bansal

New Initiatives

  • Online Shopping Site Launch New Initiatives · next quarter · Medium confidence flavor of it
    Yes. We are thinking of online shopping for which probably next quarter, you'll get a flavor of it, which is pure online shopping site.

    — V.S.S. Mani

What to watch in Q1 FY26

Finalization of Cash Return Policy (Dividend)

next quarter
Current Not yet taken up by the board
Target Policy finalized and announced

Why it matters

Provides clarity on capital allocation strategy and potential shareholder returns.

We expect the same to be taken up sooner, most likely by next quarter, hopefully, we should be freezing on a proper capital allocation policy via most likely by dividend because that is a more tax-efficient way rather than buyback at this point of time.

Risks & concerns

  • Impact of elections on collections

    medium

    Collections were not keeping pace in the first 2-3 months of FY25 partly due to the impact of elections, though they picked up in Q4.

    Management acknowledged

  • Inaccurate search results and competition

    medium

    An analyst raised concerns about defunct numbers and inaccurate search results compared to Google/IndiaMART, which management countered by stating internal audits show different findings but committed to checking specific issues.

    Analyst deflected

  • Business mortality affecting customer retention

    low

    A certain percentage of customer churn (out of 40% who don't renew immediately) is due to business mortality, which is a natural part of SME behavior.

    Management acknowledged

Q&A highlights

5 direct
Collections Growth & FY26 Goals Direct
So, the desired pickup due to all the initiatives that we were taking in terms of having more of our telesales working on qualified data rather than cold calling customers, the productivity of a telesales person working on a qualified data is almost 2.5x, 3x of someone working simply on a cold calling basis. So, some of those initiatives bore fruit in 4Q and which is what resulted in this better growth.

Explains the reason for the 4Q collections pickup (11.3% YoY) and links it to sales team optimization, a key operational efficiency.

Asked by Vivekanand Subbaraman

Capital Allocation Policy (Dividend/Buyback) Partial
So, at this point of time, this particular agenda on returning cash via, say, dividend has not been taken up. We expect the same to be taken up sooner, most likely by next quarter, hopefully, we should be freezing on a proper capital allocation policy via most likely by dividend because that is a more tax-efficient way rather than buyback at this point of time.

Highlights the ongoing delay in finalizing a clear cash return policy, which has been a recurring question from analysts, with a potential timeline for resolution.

Asked by Vivekanand Subbaraman

Sales Team Headcount & Productivity Direct
The effectiveness of that particular prospecting is much lower, whereas if a merchant has shown interest that they want to know more about Just Dial's plans, because I reached out to them via other digital advertising platforms, then the productivity is 2.5x, 3x higher, so via this we have reduced our dependency on cold calling teams and increased manpower in teams that work on qualified data. As a result, we were able to manage current output without the increase of a sales force.

Clarifies the strategy of optimizing the sales force by shifting from cold calling to qualified leads, leading to higher productivity (2.5x-3x) without increasing overall headcount, impacting operating expenses positively.

Asked by Pratik Kothari

Search Result Accuracy & Competition Partial
So, Keshav, basis, so on a quarterly basis, we do our sort of user satisfaction as well as customer satisfaction audits. And our findings have been much different. In fact, in several cases, if you are unable to find a proper number at any other platform, users many times find that they are able to find it on our particular platform. As far as search results, the one specific example you mentioned, I'm not sure whether that was because you were sitting here and searching in a different city, even then that should ideally not be the case.

An analyst directly challenged the accuracy of Just Dial's search results and compared it unfavorably to competitors, prompting management to defend their platform and commit to addressing specific issues.

Asked by Keshav Garg

Dynamic Pricing for Non-Premium Listings Direct
In non-premium listings, pricing was mostly customized at geography level. A price in Mumbai, the entry level would differ from a price in Hyderabad, but that entry level used to be same across keywords. We have now made that as well dynamic, because we realize it's not fair to charge same INR2,000 per month to a grocery store versus INR2,000 per month to, say, a real estate agent. So that customization is going to, I think, help us overall itself because non-premium revenue contributes about 50% of our revenues.

Reveals a new monetization strategy through dynamic pricing for non-premium listings, which contribute 50% of revenues, indicating a potential driver for future revenue growth and better realization per customer.

Asked by Swapnil Potdukhe

Online Shopping Site Launch Direct
Yes. We are thinking of online shopping for which probably next quarter, you'll get a flavor of it, which is pure online shopping site.

Announces a new strategic initiative to launch a pure online shopping site, expanding beyond local search, with a timeline for initial rollout, indicating a new growth vector.

Asked by Darshil Jhaveri

Use Cases of AI Direct
So, to your first query on use of AI, there are several use cases that we are already deploying Al for. So firstly, on the user engagement side, reviews. So, today, when you go to any particular listing, earlier user had to skim through tens of reviews to understand what is positive or negative about a business. Today, that summary generation is completely automated.

Details how AI is being leveraged to improve user engagement (review summarization), merchant content creation, and sales team productivity (scoring leads), showcasing technological advancements to drive efficiency and user experience.

Asked by Devang Patel

3 min read 7 chapters

Detailed narrative

Q4 FY25 Performance Overview

Just Dial reported operating revenue of INR 289.2 crores for Q4 FY25, marking a 7% year-on-year growth. Operating expenses were well-controlled, growing only 1.7% YoY, with employee expenses marginally up 0.9% and other expenses up 7.5%. This led to a healthy EBITDA of INR 86.1 crores, growing 21.9% YoY, and an EBITDA margin of 29.8% for the quarter. Profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter stood at INR 157.6 crores, a 36.3% YoY increase.

Full Year FY25 Highlights and FY26 Outlook

For the full year FY25, Just Dial achieved a revenue growth of 9.5% YoY and a significant 55% YoY growth in EBITDA, with the full-year EBITDA margin at 29.4%, comfortably exceeding the 25% target. Operating PBT grew 72% YoY to INR 277.6 crores, and PAT grew 61% YoY to INR 584.2 crores. For FY26, the company aims to accelerate top-line growth to mid-teens while maintaining similar healthy margin levels, indicating a focus on efficient growth.

Collections and Sales Team Optimization

Collections saw a decent 11.3% YoY jump in Q4 FY25, reaching INR 340 crores, contributing to a 10% YoY growth in deferred revenue to INR 558 crores as of March '25. This improvement is attributed to initiatives like shifting the telesales team's focus from cold calling to qualified leads, which has resulted in a 2.5x to 3x increase in productivity per person. This strategy allows for managing current output without a significant increase in sales force.

Strategic Monetization and Dynamic Pricing

The company is implementing dynamic pricing for non-premium listings, which constitute about 50% of its revenues. Previously, non-premium listings had uniform pricing across keywords within a geography, but now pricing will be customized based on the keyword and business type. This change is expected to help in overall realization per customer and drive future revenue growth, supporting the target of 7-8% blended price increase.

New Online Shopping Initiative

Just Dial is planning to launch a 'pure online shopping site,' with a 'flavor' of it expected by the next quarter. This initiative aims to tap into the online selling market by providing a platform for businesses with an online presence, aggregating products and services from various sites, and offering advanced search capabilities by keywords and attributes like colors. This marks a strategic expansion beyond its traditional local search model, targeting both B2C and B2B online sellers.

Leveraging AI for Efficiency and User Experience

AI is being deployed across several functions to enhance efficiency and user experience. This includes automating review summarization for user engagement, aiding merchants in creating content and descriptions for their listings, and improving sales team productivity by scoring leads based on merchant intent and engagement with the platform. These AI applications aim to provide better content, improve overall platform utility, and enhance the experience for both users and merchants.

Capital Allocation and Cash Position

As of March 31, 2025, Just Dial held INR 5,279 crores in cash and investments, representing a 14% YoY growth. These funds are primarily invested in debt mutual funds, fixed deposits, and tax-free bonds. The company clarified that INR 300 crores are specifically deployed in fixed deposits, appearing as a separate line item under current assets, with minimal cash in current accounts. The finalization of a cash return policy, likely a dividend, is expected by the next quarter.

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