PB Fintech swings to black in Q1, posts Rs 60 cr profit

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PB Fintech, the parent company that houses online marketplaces Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, on August 6 reported a third straight quarter of profit in the April-June period.

This was mainly helped by exceptional items (gains) of Rs 41 crore owing to disinvestment via subsidiaries.

The insurance aggregator, which had managed to break-even in the previous quarter, posted a net profit of Rs 60 crore in the first quarter of the financial year 2024-25 as against a loss of Rs 12 crore in the year-ago period.

The revenue from operations of the company grew 51 percent year-on-year  to Rs 1,010 crore in the quarter under review, compared to Rs 665.5 crore in Q1FY24.

However, compared to the previous quarter, the profits remained steady while the operating revenue came down almost 7.3 percent compared to Rs 1,090 crore during the quarter ended March 2024 even as the expenses came down.

On August 6, shares of PB Fintech closed 3.29 percent lower at Rs 1,425 apiece on the NSE on Tuesday.

Exceptional gains 

The insurance aggregators reported an exceptional gain of Rs 41 crore in the quarter.

This includes a gain of Rs 54.31 crore pertaining to the divestment of 29.3 percent stake in Visit Health Private Limited by PB Fintech subsidiary -Docprime Technologies Private Limited (DTPL).

Simultaneously, DTPL divested entire 100 percent stake in Visit
Internet Services Private Limited (VISPL), which resulted in a loss of Rs 20.35 crore.

The insurance firm also reported an exceptional loss of Rs 15.53 crore in the quarter due to impairment of goodwill in its subsidiary Myloancare Ventures Private Limited.

"This impairment reflects the current state of affairs and other relevant factors, including excessive cash burn, prevailing liquidity issues, and significant uncertainty regarding future business plan," the filings note.

Meanwhile, the company (via subsidiary Icall Support Services) completed acquisition of UAE-based Genesis Group, which owns a 49 percent stake in Dubai-based insurance broker Genesis Insurance.

Focus on secured lending 

PB Fintech's revenue of core online marketplaces, Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, grew 36 percent on-year to Rs 2,524 crore, while the same from new initiatives surged to Rs 1,062 crore from Rs 863 Crore, previously.

The company said its total insurance premium for the quarter was Rs 4,871 crore, led by growth in new (health and life) insurance business which surged by almost 78 percent YoY.

Meanwhile, the credit business via Paisabazaar, which continued to be adjusted EBITDA positive since Dec 2022, saw moderation in growth for the second straight quarter due to curtailment of unsecured loans.

The loan disbursal was down by 11 percent Q0Q to Rs 3,140 crore in Q1 while the firm managed to sell 1.34 lakh credit cards compared to 1.4 lakh in the previous quarter.

"A key focus area is to scale our secured credit business, by building strong distribution and fulfilment capabilities along with wider and deeper partnerships besides building a personal finance management platform (PB Money) in Q2 to drive engagement," the firm said.

"We aim to take secured disbursals to 50 percent of total disbursals (currently at ~12%) in next couple of years," it added.

Per the investors' presentation, PB Money would provide a unified view of
multiple bank accounts, give insights on spend pattern across accounts, give payment reminders and  nudges on anomalies to customers.

Yatra CEO joins board 

Dhruv Shringi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at travel aggregator Yatra Online was appointed as an independent additional director in the capacity  on PB Fintech's Board, as recommended by the Nomination & Remuneration Committee.