Concall AI

Rategain Travel Technologies Limited — Q3 FY26 earnings call

Call held 16 Feb 2026

Management summary

RateGain Travel reported a transformative Q3 FY26 with 94% YoY revenue growth to INR540 crores, largely due to the Sojern acquisition. Despite a reported PAT decline from acquisition-related costs, adjusted PAT grew 8% YoY. The company achieved significant cost synergies in Sojern and repaid a substantial portion of acquisition debt, while maintaining a strong focus on AI-powered integrated tech stack development and market leadership.

Highlights

Revenue of INR540 crores, up 94% year-on-year, driven by Sojern consolidation.
Achieved $12 million in annualized cost savings in Sojern within 100 days of integration.
Repaid approximately $25 million of acquisition-related debt, representing 20% of gross loan amount.
PAT adjusted for onetime exceptional expenses grew 8% year-on-year.
SoHo business, previously unprofitable, achieved profitability this quarter.

Concerns

Reported PAT declined year-on-year due to increased amortization from acquisition accounting, deal-related costs, and finance costs.
Organic revenue grew 4.1% year-on-year, with some quarter-end revenue deferred to Q4 FY26.
Sojern's business experiences seasonality, with November and December being the softest months.

Key financials

2 periods

Headline

Revenue
₹540 Cr
YoY +94%
EBITDA Growth
42%
Consolidated EBITDA Margin
16.1%
Organic Revenue
₹290 Cr
YoY +4.1%
Organic EBITDA Margin
17.5%
PAT
₹26.5 Cr
Adjusted PAT Growth
8%
Sojern Revenue (2 months)
₹250 Cr
Sojern EBITDA Margin
14.4%
Annualized Cost Savings (Sojern)
12 Mn
Acquisition-related Debt Repaid
25 Mn
9-month Cash Flow from Operations
₹150 Cr
Net Worth
₹1,860 Cr
Cash and Cash Equivalents
₹362 Cr
Net Debt
₹880 Cr
Amortization (quarterly)
2.8 Mn
Finance Costs (quarterly)
1.6 Mn
Deferred Component Expense (quarterly)
2 Mn

Q3

Cash Flow from Operations
₹70 Cr
One-time Nonrecurring Costs
₹34.6 Cr

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue up 187.5%, net profit up 102.1% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly

Line item	Q2 FY25	Q3 FY25	Q4 FY25	Q1 FY26	Q2 FY26	Q3 FY26	Q4 FY26	Q1 FY27
Revenue	277	279	261	273	295 +6%	540 +94%	716 +174%	785 +188%
Expenses	217	217	200	223	241	453	569	613
EBITDA	60	61	61	50	54 −10%	87 +43%	147 +141%	172 +244%
Margin	22%	22%	23%	18%	18%	16%	21%	22%
Other income	17	20	20	21	22	-18	3	3
Interest	0	0	0	0	0	12	18	17
Depreciation	9	8	8	9	9	28	35	38
Profit before tax	68	73	72	61	66 −3%	29 −60%	96 +33%	121 +98%
Tax rate	24%	23%	24%	23%	22%	9%	27%	21%
Net profit	52	57	55	47	51 −2%	26 −54%	70 +27%	95 +102%
EPS	4.43	4.79	4.64	3.97	4.32	2.24	5.92	8.01

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.

Order book

medium confidence

Bookings growth is a strong lead indicator of future revenue and reflects the ROI of GTM investments.

Source: Prepared remarks

Capital allocation

high confidence

Debt Net ₹880 Cr
- Repayment Repaid approximately $25 million of acquisition-related debt, representing 20% of gross loan amount within the first 90 days of deal closure. $25 Mn
Given the cash generation profile of this business, we've already repaid approximately $25 million of acquisition-related debt, representing 20% of gross loan amount within the first 90 days of deal closure. We aim to be net debt positive within 30 months. We continue to generate healthy operating cash flows and that gives us both balance sheet comfort and strategic flexibility as the integration progresses.
Liquidity Cash ₹362 Cr

Our cash and cash equivalent balance as of 31st December was INR362 crores.

Guidance & targets

Organic Revenue Growth

FY26 Organic Revenue Growth Organic Revenue Growth · FY26 · High confidence 6%-plus

Organically, we should end the full year at 6%-plus organic growth and between 17.5% to 18% EBITDA.

— Rohan Mittal

Organic EBITDA Margin

FY26 Organic EBITDA Margin Organic EBITDA Margin · FY26 · High confidence 17.5% to 18%

Organically, we should end the full year at 6%-plus organic growth and between 17.5% to 18% EBITDA.

— Rohan Mittal

EBITDA Margin

Sojern EBITDA Margin (going forward) EBITDA Margin · going forward · High confidence 18.5% to 19.5%

These savings alone should allow Sojern to get to the 18.5% to 19.5% EBITDA level going forward and there is further room for expansion.

— Rohan Mittal
Consolidated EBITDA Margin (sustainable long-term) EBITDA Margin · long-term · High confidence 18% to 18.5%

Yes, 18%, 18.5% at Sojern consolidated is something that we can we are looking to deliver.

— Rohan Mittal

Revenue

Long-term Revenue Target Revenue · by 2030 · High confidence $1 billion

Yes. So internally, we have set a goal of $1 billion by 2030.

— Bhanu Chopra

Debt

Net Debt Status Debt · within 30 months · High confidence net debt positive

We aim to be net debt positive within 30 months.

— Bhanu Chopra

Market context

Q4 FY26 Organic Revenue Growth Organic Revenue Growth · Q4 FY26 · High confidence double-digit

Our Q4 should see double-digit organic growth.

— Rohan Mittal

What to watch in Q4 FY26

Sojern Cost Synergies Visibility

Q1 FY27

Current $12 million annualized cost savings achieved, partial visibility in Q4 FY26

Target Full impact of $12 million annualized cost savings visible in Q1 FY27 P&L

Why it matters

To confirm the realization of cost efficiencies from the Sojern acquisition and its positive impact on consolidated margins.

These savings will be partially visible in Q4 and fully visible in Q1 FY '27 onwards.

Risks & concerns

Acquisition-related Costs Impacting PAT
medium

Reported PAT declined due to increased amortization from acquisition accounting, deal-related costs (diligence, severance, alignment), and finance costs related to acquisition funding. These are integration and accounting impacts, not a deterioration in the underlying business.

Management acknowledged
Seasonality in Sojern's Business
low

Sojern's property business, contributing 45% of annual revenue, experiences seasonality, with November and December being the softest months, impacting Q3 results. This is a known factor and is expected to recover in Q1.

Management acknowledged
Temporary Organic EBITDA Margin Dip from GTM Investments
low

The organic EBITDA margin saw a slight dip from 18.2% to 17.5% due to strategic investments in GTM teams (primarily payroll for new hires) aimed at accelerating future growth. Management expects strong ROI from these investments in future quarters.

Analyst acknowledged

Q&A highlights

8 direct

Sojern Offerings, Seasonality, and Customer Profile Direct

So the offerings are actually, this is our first acquisition where we have acquired a company with very, very similar offerings. In fact, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, we were going head on head against Sojern in the destination management space, and we were literally the top 2 providers for the DMO segment. ... In the case of Sojern, the properties business contributes as much as 45% annually to the overall revenue pie, which means that the seasonality will have some slightly more impact than what has been evident on the RateGain side of things.

Clarified the strategic overlap and competitive positioning of Sojern's offerings, and explained the impact of seasonality on consolidated revenue due to Sojern's business mix.

Asked by Deep Shah

Organic MarTech Growth and Organic EBITDA Margin Dip Direct

Adara has grown at about 19.8% year-on-year in Q3... For MarTech overall, excluding Sojern, what was our Y-o-Y growth? Close to about 11%. 11%, 11.5%. ... The delta from 18.2% to 17.5% does not include any M&A-related expenses. All M&A related expenses have been called out as onetime exceptional costs, which is part of the INR34.6 crores number that you will see in the exceptional items.

Provided specific organic growth rates for Adara and the broader MarTech segment (excluding Sojern) and clarified that the organic EBITDA margin dip was due to GTM investments, not M&A costs.

Asked by Naeem Patel

AI as a Disruptor or Accelerator for the Business Direct

So I don't see it as a disruptor. I see it as an accelerator. ... I think in our case, the fact that we have the domain context is a great advantage to us. ... I see a similar pattern play out here as well, where I don't see it as a disruptor, but I see it as an accelerator.

Management articulated its strategic view on AI, positioning it as a tool for acceleration and enhancement of existing offerings rather than a disruptive threat, leveraging domain expertise.

Asked by Naeem Patel

ROI of GTM Marketing Investments and Sales Team Performance Direct

The impact, as you rightly said, is evident in the order book. That to us is the single largest ROI calculator. ... A majority of it has gone in terms of payroll for new people who have been hired in the GTM function. This would largely include sellers, but it would also include a proportionate amount of customer success managers and account managers.

Explained the rationale and impact of the $5-6 million GTM investment, linking it directly to increased booking volumes and clarifying that it's primarily for building sales and support teams.

Asked by Parth Agrawal

Visibility of Cost Synergies and Consolidated Margins Direct

Yes. But the margins are applicable to Sojern, right? But they should be visible in the consol results. So if you look at Q4, you'll see part of these margins coming in because some of these initiatives have been executed in January or early February, but they're all executed as we speak today. Q1, you should see the entire impact visible in the P&L.

Provided a clear timeline for when the $12 million annualized cost synergies would become visible in the financial results, with full impact expected in Q1 FY27.

Asked by Deepak Poddar

Customer Count Methodology Post-Sojern Acquisition Direct

What we are doing is we are reevaluating the methodology through which we report our customer count, right, because there's a difference in the way we look at customers in a parent-child grouping versus how Sojern looks at it. So this quarter, we have just shown the Sojern count of customers as is. In the next quarter, you'll see a harmonized count of customers, yes? The overlap is less than 5% at an overall level.

Addressed the analyst's concern about customer count not increasing post-Sojern, explaining the ongoing harmonization of reporting methodology and confirming minimal overlap.

Asked by Anmol Garg

Sojern Revenue Reporting (Gross vs. Net) and FY27 Priorities Direct

Gross revenue in line with what we've been reporting on MHS in Adara side of business because the businesses are almost exactly the same. ... So I think from a product perspective, we have a very comprehensive set of capabilities that we have built and acquired. ... So a lot of focus on GTM and unifying team. ... And on the property side, I am very, very excited about realizing our vision of having this integrated tech stack...

Clarified Sojern's revenue reporting aligns with existing gross revenue practices for similar businesses and outlined key FY27 priorities focusing on GTM unification, integrated tech stack, and APAC expansion.

Asked by Aditya Jhawar

Long-term Margin Aspiration and AI Integration Direct

Our goal will be to be between that 18% to 20% range and we will continue to reinvest additional margins back into the business? ... Yes. So let me reinforce like I was saying earlier, even from our perspective, whatever products we are building now half of the code that we write is AI generated. ... See, AI has a huge opportunity, but it's very, very important to use it as an enabler with an end outcome insight.

Reiterated the long-term sustainable EBITDA margin target of 18-20% with a strategy to reinvest excess margins for growth, and emphasized the deep integration of AI into product development and internal functions.

Asked by Aditya Jhawar

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Detailed narrative

Q3 FY26 Performance Overview

RateGain Travel Technologies reported a transformative Q3 FY26, achieving INR540 crores in revenue, marking a 94% year-on-year increase. While reported PAT declined due to acquisition-related costs, adjusted PAT, excluding one-time exceptional expenses, grew 8% year-on-year. The company highlighted strong operational, strategic, and structural progress during the quarter, including significant cost synergies and debt repayment.

Sojern Integration and Synergies

The integration of Sojern is progressing well, with approximately $12 million in annualized cost savings already executed within the first 100 days, primarily from G&A functions. These savings are expected to be partially visible in Q4 FY26 and fully realized by Q1 FY27. Furthermore, the company repaid $25 million of acquisition-related debt within 90 days, reducing net debt to INR880 crores and aiming for a net debt positive position within 30 months.

Strategic Growth Drivers and Market Leadership

RateGain is building an integrated AI-powered tech stack across acquisitions, engagement, distribution, and revenue optimization. The integration of Adara and Sojern has established RateGain as the dominant provider in the destination management organization space. The company also saw strong commercial traction for its AI Concierge product, with hotels reporting up to 300% increase in ancillary revenue and 75% NPS improvement.

Organic Growth and Profitability Outlook

Organic revenue for Q3 FY26 stood at INR290 crores, growing 4.1% year-on-year, with some revenue deferrals to Q4. Organic EBITDA margin was 17.5%. Management is confident in achieving 6%-plus organic growth and 17.5-18% organic EBITDA for the full FY26. Q4 FY26 is projected to see double-digit organic growth, supported by strong booking momentum (over 30% YoY growth in 9-month bookings).

AI Strategy and Long-term Vision

RateGain views AI as an accelerator, not a disruptor, embedding it into commercial decision loops and product offerings. This includes the newly launched VIVA AI-powered voice agent for direct booking capture and AI-driven tools for audience targeting, pricing intelligence, and guest engagement. The company has set an ambitious long-term revenue target of $1 billion by 2030, driven by its integrated AI-powered travel tech stack.

Customer Base Harmonization and DaaS Business

Management is re-evaluating its customer count methodology to harmonize reporting post-Sojern acquisition, with a unified count expected in Q4 FY26 and an overlap of less than 5%. The DaaS segment, excluding the gradually unwound Adara DaaS business, is growing at 10-12% year-on-year. Sojern's revenue is entirely classified under the MarTech division.

This is an AI-generated summary of a publicly available earnings call transcript.

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