Shares of visa processing company BLS International were sharply lower by more than 3% on January 8 after the company said the month of December saw slower travel growth than what had been the trend in the past.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Joint MD Shikar Agarwal, however, said he expects the numbers to be stable for the quarter. The December quarter is traditionally the strongest for the travel business. "December is a little low for travel, globally, compared to what we have seen in the past," Shikar Agarwal said.
The management said they are looking maintain the quarter run-rate, given that a larger chunk of the business comes from H2 of a fiscal year. During the Q1FY25 as well as Q2FY25, BLS has maintained a near Rs 490-500 crore revenue figure. The EBITDA margin during the second quarter was sharply higher at 33.1%, compared to 27% during Q1FY25.
Shares of the company has been rising steadily, higher by 30% in the last six months, helped by growth in visa applications from India, UK and North African markets. Some of these numbers have even surpassed pre-Covid levels, said BLS International.
BLS International has shifted to being an own-model company from a partner-led model of growth, which it says has helped improve margins. "We have changed our model from being partner-led to have our own subsidiary. To that extent, we have opened our own company in many countries in the world which has led to an increase in margins and will definitely drive up our profitability going forward," Shikar Agarwal said. BLS International had acquired 100% stake in its subsidiary in Jordan at the start of the year, to make it a wholly-owned unit.
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The management also has a new contract from the UAE Foreign Ministry to set up consular centres in Moscow and Mumbai to offer services and process applications. The company said it is confident of processing 1 lakh applications annually as part of this contract alone, and which could open up more geographies in the future.
The global travel rebound, especially in China, has helped the company grow business, said the joint MD, adding that they had increased volumes by 30% during the second quarter, processing 10 lakh visa applications.
"Numbers in China have started moving up and have come closer to pre-Covid levels. Russia is lagging behind, we have just reached 20-30% pre-Covid volumes in Russia. That will take some time, depending on the geopolitical situation, but in 1-2 years things should normalize in Russia also," said the Joint MD.
Globally, more countries are outsourcing visa processing business to private companies like BLS International. A World Tourism Barometer note said by 2025, outsourced entities will handle half of the world's visa processing requirement.
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