Q2 2026 MakeMyTrip Ltd Earnings Call
Speaker #1: For an online perspective, we remain focused on growing this segment in Q2 fiscal year 2026. Our international air ticketing revenue grew by A budget and interest rate reductions to further boost consumption.
Speaker #1: These measures will provide a further boost to the disposable income and discretionary spending , particularly within urban middle income , middle income households .
Speaker #1: Analysts estimate that the combined fiscal and monetary stimulus from these measures could unlock additional consumer spending of $3.3 to $3.5 billion during the latter half of fiscal year 2026.
Speaker #1: This, along with the increasing desire to travel more among Indians, should help in the growth of the travel market as well. Let me now move on to share the progress on our journey.
Speaker #1: AI continues to be at the center of our core strategy for us to enhance customer experience and improve productivity . We launched the beta version of our AI powered conversational travel assistant , Myra in August 2025 and is currently available in English and Hindi with voice and text features , and plans to expand to more Indian languages soon .
Rajesh Magow: Budget and interest rate reductions to further boost the consumption. These measures will provide a further boost to the disposable income and discretionary spending, particularly within urban middle-income households. Analysts estimate that the combined fiscal and monetary stimulus from these measures could unlock additional consumer spending of $3 to $3.5 billion during the latter half of fiscal year 2026. This, along with increasing desire to travel more among Indians, should help in the growth of the travel market as well. Let me now move on to share the progress on our AI journey. AI continues to be at the center of our core strategy for us to enhance customer experience and improve productivity.
Speaker #1: The initial response has been encouraging for the collection of consumer insights as travelers begin to interact with this new interface in a short span of time.
Speaker #1: The agent has scaled to over 25,000 conference conversations daily . Myra is poised to redefine and help travelers explore , plan , and book trips all at one place , making it super simple for new users and comprehensive at the same time .
Speaker #1: For complex travel use cases . By simplifying the discovery and booking experience through natural language interaction and personalized recommendations . We plan to transform how travelers plan their journey journeys , making travel planner planning faster , easier and more intuitive .
Rajesh Magow: We launched the beta version of our AI-powered conversational travel assistant, Maira, in August 2025 and it is currently available in English and Hindi with voice and text features and plans to expand to more Indian languages soon. The initial response has been encouraging for the collection of consumer insights as travelers begin to interact with this new interface. In a short span of time, the agent has scaled to over 25,000 conversations daily. Maira is poised to redefine and help travelers explore, plan, and book trips all at one place, making it super simple for new users and comprehensive at the same time for complex travel use cases. By simplifying the discovery and booking experience through natural language interaction and personalized recommendations, we plan to transform how travelers plan their journeys, making travel planning faster, easier, and more intuitive.
Speaker #1: We aim to make our platforms the default search engine for the travel needs of Indians. Myra is currently contributing to this by significantly enhancing user engagement.
Speaker #1: More than 35% of travelers begin engaging with Myra up to 90 days before their trip, using it as a space for exploration and planning.
Speaker #1: What also stands out is how the return is nearly 1 in 4 users who come back seeking help across multiple categories, from itineraries and visa queries to flights, forex, hotels, and local experiences.
Speaker #1: They're not just asking where to go , but also what to do once they once there . Turning Myra into an end to end companion that guides them for from inspiration to action , Myra is also helping us penetrate deeper into India with voice first engagement strategy with new user share at about 20% in tier two and tier three cities .
Rajesh Magow: We aim to make our platforms the default search engine for the travel needs of Indians. Maira is contributing to this by significantly enhancing user engagement. More than 35% of travelers begin engaging with Maira up to 90 days before their trip, using it as a space for exploration and planning. What also stands out is how the return—nearly one in four users come back seeking help across multiple categories, from itineraries and visa queries to flights, forex, hotels, and local experiences. They're not just asking where to go, but also what to do once they're there, turning Maira into an end-to-end companion that guides them from inspiration to action. Maira is also helping us penetrate deeper into India with a voice-first engagement strategy, with new users share at about 20%. In Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, voice adoption is 50% higher than in metros.
Speaker #1: Voice adoption is 50% higher than in metros , 60% of voice queries come in English compared to just 20% in text chat . When travelers speak to Myra , they speak naturally , freely and confidently , with over 70% of conversations now being termed good conversations .
Speaker #1: Voice led conversations are richer and longer . Users ask follow up questions , express preferences , and describe context just as they would with a human travel expert .
Speaker #1: In a country where digital literacy and linguistic diversity vary widely , Myra is voice led . Discovery is quietly expanding . Access , unlocking the next wave of online travelers who are more comfortable speaking than typing .
Rajesh Magow: 60% of voice queries come in English, compared to just 20% in text chat. When travelers speak to Maira, they speak naturally, freely, and confidently, with over 70% of conversations now being termed good conversations. Voice-led conversations are richer and longer. Users ask follow-up questions, express preferences, and describe context just as they would with a human travel expert. In a country where digital literacy and linguistic diversity vary widely, Maira's voice-led discovery is quietly expanding access, unlocking the next wave of online travelers who are more comfortable speaking than typing. For our cabs business, we also launched our GenAI-powered presales chatbot. The bot acts as an information provider, as a recommender, and provides assurance to the customer. We are expanding the coverage. This bot-plus-assist approach drives a high conversion rate compared to traditional agent-led assistance for users who interact with it.
Speaker #1: For our Cabs business , we also launched our AI powered pre-sales chatbot , the bot acts as an information provider . As a recommender , and provides assurance to the customer .
Speaker #1: We are expanding the coverage this bot plus assist approach drives a higher conversion rate compared to traditional agent . Traditional agent led assistance for users who interact with it .
Speaker #1: We are expanding the bot's capabilities with a new agent seller persona for advanced search and quick actions, while continuously improving accuracy and chat quality.
Speaker #1: Besides, as part of our ongoing efforts to enhance customer experience and to strengthen our post-sales flow further, we recently launched Genevoise Agent for our flights and hotels customers. This agent is designed to handle all customer queries received via calls and offer resolutions to the consumers.
Speaker #1: In the same call . This agent is successfully integrated with our telephony system , enabling the AI agent to handle calls with background noise , understand interruptions and accurately interpret queries , including complex actions like date change , web checking , cancellations , etc.
Rajesh Magow: We are expanding the bot's capabilities with a new agentic seller, Persona, for advanced search and quick actions, while continuously improving accuracy and chat quality. Besides, as part of our ongoing efforts to enhance customer experience and to strengthen our post-sales flow further, we recently launched GenAI Voice Agent for our flights and hotels customers, which is designed to handle all customer queries received via calls and offer resolutions to the consumers in the same call. This agent is successfully integrated with our telephony system, enabling the AI agent to handle calls with background noise, understand interruptions, and accurately interpret queries, including complex sections like date change, web check-in, cancellations, et cetera. Let me now turn to the business segment, starting with air ticketing business. The domestic supply continues to be impacted, thus affecting the overall domestic air passenger growth, which witnessed a decline of 3% year on year.
Speaker #1: . Let me now turn to business segment , starting with air ticketing business . The domestic supply continues to be impacted , thus affecting the overall domestic air passenger growth , which witnessed a decline of 3% year on year .
Speaker #1: The outlook for domestic supply in H2 is improving, with daily departures expected to cross 3,200, which is similar to Q3 of last year.
Speaker #1: We believe these issues are short term in nature and long term outlook for Indian aviation sector continues to be robust . Our accommodation business , which includes hotels , homestays and holiday packages , delivered a strong 18% volume growth year on year in a seasonally weak quarter .
Speaker #1: Short holidays and weekend getaways continue to define travel behavior and emerge as a key theme . We continue to see new demand peaks in the long weekends for the weekend of 15th August , we had an all time high hotel check in , which was about 20% higher than the last peak .
Rajesh Magow: The outlook for domestic supply in H2 is improving with daily departures expected to cross 3,200 plus, which is similar to Q3 of last year. We believe these issues are short-term in nature, and the long-term outlook for the Indian aviation sector continues to be robust. Our accommodation business, which includes hotels, homestays, and holiday packages, delivered a strong 18% volume growth year on year in a seasonally weak quarter. Short holidays and weekend getaways continue to define travel behavior and emerge as a key theme. We continue to see new demand peaks in the long weekends. For the weekend of August 15, we had an all-time high hotel check-in, which was about 20% higher than the last peak. It was also very well supported by robust growth of 38% year on year in the hotel segment of our corporate business, helping us deliver strong overall growth.
Speaker #1: It was also very well supported by robust growth of 38% year-on-year in the hotel segment of our corporate business, helping us deliver strong overall growth.
Speaker #1: The outlook for India's hospitality sector remains optimistic, supported by sustained demand, an expanding supply base, and a healthy pipeline of new signings across markets.
Speaker #1: According to HVS data, domestic and international chain hotels signed over 36,400 rooms by August 2025. This represents a 32% increase over the same period last year.
Speaker #1: We continue to expand our supply base in the domestic market. We now have over 95,000 accommodation options available on the platform, covering more than 2,000 cities in the country.
Speaker #1: Events are emerging as a high intent travel driver across entertainment , sports and cultural segments . We have built specialized mapping between major events and nearby stays , improving conversion through dynamic packaging from IPL weekends to music festivals .
Rajesh Magow: The outlook for India's hospitality sector remains optimistic, supported by sustained demand and an expanding supply base and a healthy pipeline of new signings across markets. According to HBS data, domestic and international chain hotels signed over 36,400 rooms by August 2025, a 32% increase over the same period last year. We continue to expand our supply base in the domestic market. We now have 95,000-plus accommodation options available on the platform, covering 2,000-plus cities in the country. Events are emerging as a high-intent travel driver across entertainment, sports, and cultural segments. We have built specialized mapping between major events and nearby stays, improving conversion through dynamic packaging. From IPL weekends to music festivals, these moments now form predictable demand peaks. With real-time availability, we are turning spontaneous plans into structured, high-yield travel opportunities so that users can book their stay near to the venue well in advance.
Speaker #1: These moments now form predictable demand peaks with real time availability . We are turning spontaneous plans into structured , high yield travel opportunities so that users can book their stay near to the venue as well in advance .
Speaker #1: Our international hotel business continues to record strong growth, driven by rising air connectivity and the accelerated shift from offline to online travel.
Speaker #1: Purchasing behavior . We are witnessing rapid adoption and digitization in India . Two and deer tier three cities as first time international travelers increasingly use mobile platforms to book stays , flights and activities together .
Speaker #1: We continue to increase our hotel inventory across international destinations , which are of interest for Indian travelers . Recognizing the influence of food on hotel selection by Indian travelers , we enhanced our restaurants section to highlight user generated insights on breakfast , calling out Indian vegetarian options and familiar menu items .
Rajesh Magow: Our international hotel business continues to record strong growth, driven by rising air connectivity and the accelerated shift from offline to online travel purchasing behavior. We are witnessing rapid adoption and digitization in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, as first-time international travelers increasingly use mobile platforms to book stays, flights, and activities together. We continue to increase our hotel inventory across international destinations, which are of interest for Indian travelers. Recognizing the influence of food on hotel selection by Indian travelers, we enhanced our restaurants' section to highlight user-generated insights on breakfast, calling out Indian vegetarian options, and familiar menu items, further strengthening relevance for Indian travelers. Our holiday packages business grew in line with seasonality. We continue to strengthen our product proposition. We have launched curated holiday packages to Phu Quoc, Vietnam, with exclusive direct flights starting December 9, 2025.
Speaker #1: Further strengthening relevance for Indian travelers, our holiday package business grew in line with seasonality. We continue to strengthen our product proposition.
Speaker #1: We have launched curated holiday packages to Vietnam with exclusive direct flights starting December 19, 2025. We have scheduled multiple flights for the upcoming winter season, as currently there is no direct connectivity from India.
Speaker #1: The direct service will cut travel time from around eight hours via connecting routes to just about five hours, making the island far more accessible for Indian holidaymakers.
Speaker #1: Indian travelers today are looking for destinations that offer unique experiences, easy access, and great value. [Destination] fits the bill, but has remained relatively underexplored due to the lack of direct connectivity.
Speaker #1: We are making this unique island nation directly accessible for Indians planning their international holidays this winter. Our homestay business continues to scale well, and we continue to build the category and expand our homestay supply.
Rajesh Magow: We have scheduled multiple flights for the upcoming winter season, as Phu Quoc currently has no direct connectivity from India. The direct service will cut travel time from around eight hours via connecting routes to just about five hours, making the island far more accessible for Indian holiday makers. Indian travelers today are looking for destinations that offer unique experiences, easy access, and great value. Phu Quoc fits the bill but has remained relatively underexplored due to the lack of direct connectivity. We're making this scenic island destination directly accessible for Indians planning their international holidays this winter. Our homestay business continues to scale well, and we continue to build the category and expand our homestay supply. We added over 49,000-plus rooms to the overall supply during the quarter, resulting in a cumulative supply growth of about 35% year on year.
Speaker #1: We added over 49,000 rooms to the overall supply during the quarter, resulting in a cumulative supply growth of about 35% year-on-year.
Speaker #1: Our aim is to build the category and solve for the consumer pain points . Food availability remains one of the most frequent customer queries for alternative accommodation stays , with a clear preference for properties offering readymade ready meals over self cooking options .
Speaker #1: To address this , we revamped the food and dining module across both supply and consumer products . The new flow enables hosts to provide rich details on meal availability , pricing , cuisines , variety and timings , along with cook availability and associated charges for customized meals in our bus ticketing business .
Speaker #1: We witnessed strong growth in Q2 , led by strong inventory additions and with all regions growing 20% plus year on year inventory additions .
Rajesh Magow: Our aim is to build a category and solve for the consumer pain points. Food availability remains one of the most frequent customer queries for alternative accommodation stays, with a clear guest preference for properties offering ready meals over self-cooking options. To address this, we revamped the food and dining module across both supply and consumer products. The new flow enables hosts to provide rich details on meal availability, pricing, cuisines, variety, and timings, along with cook availability and associated charges for customized meals. In our bus ticketing business, we witnessed strong growth in Q2, led by strong inventory addition and with all regions growing 20% plus year on year. Inventory addition remained strong throughout Q2 fiscal year 2026. This trend of investment in new buses among private operators is likely to continue in the upcoming quarter as well due to increased festive demand.
Speaker #1: Remains strong throughout Q2 Fiscal Year 2026. This trend of investment in new buses among private operators is likely to continue in the upcoming quarter as well, due to increased festive demand.
Speaker #1: We expect further buoyancy in new bus additions with the reduction of GST for the procurement of buses announced in September. During the quarter, we have onboarded Gujarat and Odisha State Transport Corporation, leading to the addition of over 5,700 services.
Speaker #1: Our growth continues to be broad-based, with all regions growing in double digits, and North, Gujarat, and Rajasthan growing at 40% plus in Q2.
Speaker #1: We have also launched bus booking options within our Red rail standalone Android and iOS applications . We continue to strengthen our customer proposition within our business during the quarter , we launched the Food on Trains feature in partnership with Zomato , thus expanding on our customer convenience initiatives within the trains category .
Rajesh Magow: We expect further buoyancy in new bus addition, with a reduction of GST for procurement of buses announced in September. During the quarter, we have onboarded Gujarat and Orissa State Transport Corporation, leading to the addition of 5,700-plus services. Our growth continues to be broad-based, with all regions growing in double digits, with North and Gujarat, Rajasthan growing at 40% plus in Q2. We have also launched bus booking options within our Red Rail standalone Android and iOS applications. We continue to strengthen our customer proposition within our trains business. During the quarter, we launched the food-on-trains feature in partnership with Zomato, thus expanding on our customer convenience initiatives within the trains category. The service is now live across 130 stations and is accessible to both transacting and non-transacting users. Early results have been promising, with strong conversion and top-of-funnel engagement.
Speaker #1: The service is now live across 130 stations and is accessible to both transacting and transacting users . Early results have been promising , with strong conversion and top of funnel engagement .
Speaker #1: Notably, a significant share of users are placing orders up to two hours prior to station arrival, and orders span a wide range of cuisine types, indicating both the flexibility and variety of selections available to customers.
Speaker #1: Our corporate travel business, via both our platforms, that is My Business Quest to Travel, is witnessing strong growth on the back of new customer acquisition.
Speaker #1: Our active corporate customer count on my business now over 75,500 plus , compared to 59,000 customers during the same quarter last year . And for quest to Travel , the active customer count has reached 527 large corporates , compared to 462 customers in the same quarter last year .
Rajesh Magow: Notably, a significant share of users are placing orders up to two hours prior to station arrival, and orders span a wide range of cuisine types, indicating both the flexibility and variety of selections available to customers. Our corporate travel business via both our platforms, that is MyBiz and Quest2Travel, is witnessing strong growth on the back of new customer acquisition. Our active corporate customer count on MyBiz is now over 75,500, compared to 59,000 customers during the same quarter last year. For Quest2Travel, the active customer count has reached 527 large corporates, compared to 462 customers in the same quarter last year. Before I conclude, here's a quick reminder of key leadership role changes announced recently. After a successful stint of 14 years as Group CFO, Mohit Kabra has taken on a larger role of leading business and has been elevated as Group Chief Operating Officer.
Speaker #1: Before I conclude, here's a quick reminder of key leadership role changes announced recently. After a successful stint of 14 years as Group CFO, Mohit Kabra has taken on a larger role leading the business and has been elevated to Group Chief Operating Officer.
Speaker #1: In his current role, Mohit Kabra will work closely with business heads and will drive the future growth agenda of the company. We also welcome Deepak Bohra, who joins us as Group CFO.
Speaker #1: Deepak is a Chartered Accountant who comes with 30 years of rich experience in the field of finance. Deepak joins us from Wipro, where he has handled large teams and led a variety of roles within the finance function.
Speaker #1: I wish them all the best in their new roles. With this, let me now hand over the call to Mohit for financial highlights of the quarter.
Speaker #1: Thanks , Rajesh . Welcome on board Deepak and hello everyone . The last two months of the previous quarter that is May and June were impacted by a series of external events and the weak sentiment for domestic air travel spilled over into the reported quarter due to continued supply constraints , leading to a market de-growth of about 3% year on year in the domestic air market quarter two , which is generally low season quarter , was also impacted by excessive rainfall , particularly in some of the North Indian hill states and Union territories .
Rajesh Magow: In his current role, Mohit will work closely with business heads and will drive the future growth agenda of the company. We also welcome Deepak Bora, who joins us as Group CFO. Deepak is a chartered accountant and comes with 30 years of rich experience in the field of finance. Deepak joins us from Wipro, where he has handled large teams and led a variety of roles within the finance function. I wish them all the best for their new roles. With this, let me now hand over the call to Mohit for financial highlights of the quarter.
Speaker #1: Like Jammu and Kashmir , Ladakh , Himachal Pradesh , etc. , which led to a de-growth in the 20s . In these regions , on a year on year basis .
Mohit Kabra: Thanks, Rajesh. Welcome on board, Deepak, and hello, everyone. The last two months of the previous quarter, that is May and June, were impacted by a series of external events. The peak sentiment for domestic air travel spilled over into the reported quarter due to continued supply constraints, leading to a market degrowth of about 3% year on year in the domestic air market. Quarter two, which is generally a low-season quarter, was also impacted by excessive rainfall, particularly in some of the North Indian hill states and Union Territories like Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, etc., which led to a degrowth in the 20s in these regions on a year-on-year basis during the quarter.
Speaker #1: During the quarter, despite these macro conditions, we leveraged our one-stop shop approach across travel services to drive growth via accommodation and other transport segments like bus ticketing.
Speaker #1: To make the most of the overall bounce back in travel demand during the quarter . As a result , the highlights of the quarter were hotels and packages adjusted margin growth , which accelerated from 16.3% year on year in Q1 to 21.6% year on year in constant currency .
Speaker #1: During the reported quarter, within this segment, standalone hotels adjusted margin growth accelerated from 18.5% in the previous quarter to 23.1% in the non-flights.
Speaker #1: Transport business . Bus ticketing . Adjusted margin growth increased from 34.1% year on year in the previous quarter to 44.1% year on year in constant currency during this quarter .
Mohit Kabra: Despite these macro conditions, we leveraged our one-stop shop approach across travel services to drive growth via accommodation and other transport segments like bus ticketing to make the most of the overall bounce-back in travel demand during the quarter. As a result, the highlights of the quarter were hotels and packages adjusted margin growth, which accelerated from 16.3% year on year in Q1 to 21.6% year on year in constant currency during the reported quarter. Within this segment, standalone hotels adjusted margin growth accelerated from 18.5% in the previous quarter to 23.1%. In the non-flights transport business, bus ticketing adjusted margin growth increased from 34.1% year on year in the previous quarter to 44.1% year on year in constant currency during this quarter.
Speaker #1: Before I get into the financial details, I would also like to call out a couple of accounting items in this quarter for better understanding of the results that we are calling out right now.
Speaker #1: You would recall that last quarter we raised an additional capital of approximately $3.1 billion through a mix of a primary offering of ordinary shares, as well as zero-coupon convertible senior notes maturing in 2030.
Speaker #1: The net proceeds from the offerings were used for the repurchase of Class B shares on July 2, 2025. We completed the repurchase and cancellation of 34.4 million Class B shares. Out of the $3.1 billion raised, about $1.4 billion was raised through 2030 zero-coupon convertible notes.
Mohit Kabra: Before I get into the financial details, I would also like to call out a couple of accounting items in this quarter for better understanding of the results that we are calling out right now. You would recall that last quarter we had raised an additional capital of approximately $3.1 billion through a mix of primary offering of ordinary shares as well as zero-coupon convertible notes maturing in 2030. The entire net proceeds from the offerings were used for repurchase of class B shares. On second slide, 2025, we completed the repurchase and cancellation of 34.4 million class B shares. Out of the $3.1 billion raised, about $1.4 billion were raised through 2030 zero-coupon convertible notes. While these notes have no interest costs associated with them, as per IFRS, about $1.1 billion has been recognized as debt on the balance sheet.
Speaker #1: And while these notes have no interest cost associated with them, as per IFRS, about $1.1 billion has been recognized as debt on the balance sheet, and the balance of about $319 million will be recognized as an interest cost in the P&L every quarter over the next three years, until July 2028.
Speaker #1: As a result, $24.3 million has been recognized as interest cost during the current quarter related to the 2030 convertible notes. In addition to about $4 million of finance cost, which is recognized every quarter for the 2028 notes issued earlier in 2021.
Speaker #1: Please note that this active interest cost of $28.3 million will not have any bearing on the operating profitability of the company , as there is no actual interest outgo , whether in cash or otherwise , as these are zero coupon convertible notes .
Mohit Kabra: The balance of about $319 million will be recognized as an interest cost in the P&L every quarter over the next three years until July 2028. As a result, $24.3 million has been recognized as interest costs during the current quarter related to the 2030 convertible notes, in addition to about $4 million of finance costs, which is recognized every quarter for the 2028 notes issued earlier in 2021. Please note that this notional interest cost of $28.3 million will not have any bearing on the operating profitability of the company, as there is no actual interest outflow, whether in cash or otherwise, as these are zero-coupon convertible notes. Secondly, while our operations are predominantly in INR, our reporting currency is dollars, as a result of which there are usually translation-related forex gains or losses.
Speaker #1: Secondly , while our operations are predominantly in INR , our reporting currency is dollars . As a result of which there are usually translation related forex gains or losses .
Speaker #1: As a result of the sharp weakness in the INR versus the USD during the current quarter, we have recognized a foreign currency loss of $14.3 million.
Speaker #1: Both these items, that is, interest in forex costs of approximately $28.2 million and $14.3 million, have been recorded in the finance cost line in the P&L.
Speaker #1: As a result, we report a loss for the quarter of $5.7 million, compared to a profit of $17.9 million during the same quarter.
Speaker #1: In the last year, however, our adjusted operating profit has registered a strong growth and has reached $44.2 million during this quarter, compared to $37.5 million in the same quarter last year.
Mohit Kabra: As a result of the sharp weakness in INR versus the USD during the current quarter, we have recognized a foreign currency loss of $14.3 million during the quarter. Both these items, that is interest and forex costs, of approximately $28.3 million and $14.3 million have been recorded in the finance cost line in the P&L. As a result, we report a loss for the quarter of $5.7 million compared to a profit of $17.9 million during the same quarter in the last year. However, our adjusted operating profit has registered a strong growth and has reached $44.2 million during this quarter compared to $37.5 million in the same quarter last year. Moving on to our segment results, our air ticketing adjusted margin stood at $102.8 million, registering a year-on-year growth of 10.6% year on year in constant currency.
Speaker #1: On to our segment results . Our ticketing adjusted margin stood at $102.8 million , registering a year on year growth of 10.6% year on year .
Speaker #1: In constant currency . And the domestic market , we maintained our market share of about 30% . Our international ticketing business continues to grow faster than the market , and we continue to gain market share volumes in this segment grew by over 16% year on year , which is almost two and a half times the market growth of about 6% during the period in the quarter .
Speaker #1: The mix of international ticketing business has reached an all-time high of 43%, compared to 37% during the same quarter last year.
Speaker #1: In the hotels and packages segment, adjusted margin growth stood at about 21.6% year-on-year in constant currency terms, resulting in an adjusted margin of approximately $505 million.
Mohit Kabra: In the domestic air market, we maintained our market share of about 30%. Our international air ticketing business continues to grow faster than the market and is hoping to gain market share. Volumes in this segment grew by over 16% year on year, which is almost 2.5 times the market growth of about 6% during the period. In the quarter, the mix of international air ticketing business has reached an all-time high of 43% compared to 37% during the same quarter last year. In the hotels and packages segment, adjusted margin growth stood at about 21.6% year on year in constant currency terms, resulting in an adjusted margin of $105.8 million during the quarter. We have witnessed strong growth despite Q2 being a seasonally slow quarter for leisure travel. The growth for standalone hotels was even better at 23.1% year on year.
Speaker #1: During the quarter . We have witnessed strong growth despite Q2 being a seasonally slow quarter for leisure travel and growth for standalone hotels was even better at 23.1% year on year .
Speaker #1: The mix of international hotels and packages revenue reached a high of 23.4% during the quarter, up from 21.4% in the same quarter last year. Now, in the bus ticketing business, the adjusted margin stood at $37.7 million, registering a strong year-on-year growth of 44.1% in constant currency terms. Most of our ancillary services, such as travel insurance, forex, etc., have also contributed positively.
Speaker #1: , as well as other transport services such as cabs and rails , have also shown good growth during the quarter . As a result , adjusted margin from the other category came in at $20.5 million , a strong growth of 29.7% year on year in constant currency .
Mohit Kabra: The mix of international hotels and packages revenue reached a high of 23.4% during the quarter, up from 21.4% same quarter last year. In our bus ticketing business, the adjusted margin stood at $37.7 million, registering a strong year-on-year growth of 44.1% in constant currency terms. Most of our ancillary services, such as travel insurance, forex, et cetera, as well as other transport services such as cabs and rails, have also shown good growth during the quarter. As a result, adjusted margin from the others category came in at $20.5 million, with a strong growth of 29.7% year on year in constant currency. Moving on to the expense side, most expenses have come in line during the quarter. Marketing and sales promotion expense for the quarter stood at 4.2% of gross bookings compared to 5.1% in the previous quarter and 4.6% during the same quarter last year.
Speaker #1: Moving on to the expense side, most expenses have come in line during the quarter. Marketing and sales promotion expense for the quarter stood at 5.2% of gross bookings, compared to 5.1% in the previous quarter.
Speaker #1: And 4.6% during the same quarter last year. This has been in line with our segment margins, being better than both the previous quarter as well as the same quarter last year.
Speaker #1: As a result, our adjusted operating margin has improved from 1.66% of gross booking value during the same quarter last year to 1.8% of gross booking value during the current quarter.
Speaker #1: We ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $835 million, translating to an increase of $31 million over the previous quarter.
Speaker #1: We will continue to look for organic and inorganic investment opportunities through the year . Looking ahead , while the growth in domestic air ticketing is marred by short term supply side challenges , we believe the GST benefits have come in at a very appropriate time .
Mohit Kabra: This has been in line with our segment margins being better than both the previous quarter as well as the same quarter last year. As a result, our adjusted operating margin has actually improved from 1.66% of gross booking value during the same quarter last year to 1.8% of gross booking value during the current reported quarter. We ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $835 million, translating to an increase of $31 million over the previous quarter. We will continue to look for organic and inorganic investment opportunities through the year. Looking ahead, while the growth in domestic air ticketing is marred by short-term supply-side challenges, we believe the GST benefits have come in at a very appropriate time.
Speaker #1: The reduction in rates for procurement of new buses, as well as the reduction in GST for hotel stays up to a price point of $7,500, will help rebound the travel demand.
Speaker #1: The demand for travel services has rebounded after a muted first quarter. These measures are expected to boost demand, particularly in the value-sensitive segments, supporting volume growth and market penetration in key regions, including tier two and tier three cities.
Speaker #1: With our omni-channel platform strategy across retail, B2B, and corporates, and the increasing supply of services being contracted across the length and breadth of the country, we remain focused on driving growth ahead of the industry.
Mohit Kabra: A reduction in rates for procurement of new buses, as well as a reduction in GST for hotel stays up to a price point of $27,500, will help rebound the travel demand for travel services after a muted first quarter. These measures are expected to boost demand, particularly in the value-sensitive segments, supporting volume growth and market penetration in key regions, including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. With our omnichannel platform strategy across retail, B2B, and corporates, and the increasing supply of services being contracted across the length and breadth of the country, we remain focused on driving growth ahead of the industry. To conclude, our diversified portfolio, execution capabilities, and operational discipline continue to position us well for sustained long-term growth and value creation. With that, I'd like to turn the call back to Vipul for Q&A.
Speaker #1: To conclude, our diversified portfolio execution capabilities and operational discipline continue to position us well for sustained long-term growth and value creation. With that, I'd like to turn the call back to Vipul for Q&A.
Speaker #2: Thanks, Mohit. Any participant willing to ask questions can click on the 'raise hand' option on their screen, and we will take the questions one by one.
Speaker #2: The first question comes from the line of Sachin Salgaonkar of Bank of America . Sachin , you may please unmute and ask the question .
Speaker #3: Hey people, can you hear me?
Speaker #2: Yes, please go ahead.
Speaker #1: Yes . sir .
Speaker #3: Thank you for the opportunity. I have three questions. The first question is on the air capacity issue. Our understanding is that there are other bases.
Speaker #3: It looks like most of the Air India planes are back and not all Indigo planes are back . So just wanted to understand , you know , where are we on the air ?
Speaker #3: Capacity issues. How should we expect demand going ahead, particularly for the December quarter?
Vipul Garg: Thanks, Mohit. Any participant willing to ask a question can click on the raise hand option on their screen, and we will take the questions one by one. The first question comes from the line of Sachin Salgankar of Bank of America. Sachin, you may please unmute and ask the question.
Speaker #1: Yeah , maybe I can take that . Sachin . So , you know , as I think it was there in my script , I was reading out .
Speaker #1: So in the current quarter , what is expected is that as far as domestic air market is concerned , that the daily departures will get back to about 3200 plus , which is similar to the same period last last year .
[Analyst 1]: Hey, Vipul, can you hear me?
Vipul Garg: Yes, please go ahead.
[Analyst 1]: Thank you for the opportunity. I have three questions. First question is on the air capacity issue. Based on our understanding, it looks like most of the Air India planes are back, and not all IndiGo planes are back. I just wanted to understand, you know, where are we on the air capacity issue and how should we expect demand going ahead, particularly for the December quarter?
Speaker #1: That is as far as domestic . Now , this this data is obviously basis the you know , it's quite informed data because basis the inputs that we have from we we have from the ends which I think it's a good start .
Speaker #1: You know, ideally, obviously we wanted it to grow. But as you know, this quarter there was a dip to three percentage points.
Rajesh Magow: Yeah, maybe I can take that, Sachin. As I think it was there in my script I was reading out. In the current quarter, what is expected is that as far as the domestic air market is concerned, the daily departures will get back to about 3,200 plus, which is similar to the same period last year. That is as far as domestic. This data is obviously basis the, you know, it's quite informed data because basis the inputs that we have from, we have from the airlines, which I think it's a good start. Ideally, obviously, we wanted it to grow. As you know, this quarter, there was a dip 2, 3 percentage points. If it gets back to the same level, it's a decent start. It is also, it is because of what you mentioned, right? Some planes are coming back and the others are coming back slowly.
Speaker #1: But now if it gets back to the same level it's a decent start . And it is also it is because of the because of what you mentioned .
Speaker #1: Right. So, some planes are coming back, and the others are coming back slowly, but very interestingly. Worth also mentioning is that this is as far as the domestic air market is concerned.
Speaker #1: But for international air in this quarter, compared to the same quarter last year, the number of departures actually went up by about 30 departures.
Speaker #1: Daily departures went up and out of that , you know , the two main noticeable countries where it went up significantly was actually Thailand and UAE , which are effectively the sweet spot for us .
Speaker #1: And also for the overall Indian travel market for outbound . So as far as international is concerned , it's it's doing well . It's back as far as domestic is concerned .
Rajesh Magow: Very interestingly, worth also mentioning is that this is as far as domestic air market is concerned. For international air in this quarter, as compared to the same quarter last year, the number of departures actually went up. About 30 departures, daily departures went up. Out of that, the two main noticeable countries where it went up significantly was actually Thailand and UAE, which are effectively the sweet spot for us and also for the overall Indian travel market for outbound. As far as international is concerned, it's doing well. It's back. As far as domestic is concerned, constraints still remain. Hoping it'll lift soon.
Speaker #1: Constraints still remain. Hoping it will lift soon.
Speaker #3: Thanks , Rajesh . Very clear . And there are two parts elements going into the December quarter , one , what you highlighted right now , which is not the entire supply is up , but on the second hand we are actually seeing benefits coming from a GST perspective .
Speaker #3: Yeah. I would love to understand from you, actually. Are these because, you know, on the face of it, clearly you should see GST benefits?
Speaker #3: But in terms of advance booking and others , are we seeing this December turning out to be slightly better as compared to , let's say , December last year , purely on the back of more money in the hands of consumers ?
Speaker #1: Yeah , I would say so . I think it's a decent start . But in all fairness , for our category , specifically for travel , while for the other non-travel categories , a lot of the shopping and the consumption picks up before Diwali for travel .
[Analyst 1]: Thanks, Rajesh. Very clear. There are two parts elements going into the December quarter, right? One, what you highlighted right now, which is not that entire supply is up. On the second hand, we are actually seeing benefits coming from a GST perspective.
Speaker #1: It's except, actually, after Diwali, and therefore we will have to just wait and watch for a little bit more time. But early signs are clearly there.
Rajesh Magow: Yeah.
[Analyst 1]: Would love to understand from you, actually, are these, because, you know, on the face of it, clearly, you should see GST benefits. In terms of advance booking and others, are we seeing this December turning out to be slightly better as compared to, let's say, December last year, purely on the back of more money in the hands of consumers?
Speaker #1: Like, you know, I think we should just look at this. So, the overall consumption boost story is mostly looking at an overall GST reduction that has been announced.
Speaker #1: You know , sort of across the categories which effectively puts more money into the into into your pockets and that coupled with the fact that there is more desire to travel , I'm quite optimistic that , you know , travel as a category will also benefit out of this overall sort of GST reduction and more disposable income in consumers hands .
Rajesh Magow: Yeah, I would say, Sachin, I think it's a decent start. In all fairness, for our category, specifically for travel, while for the other non-travel categories, a lot of the shopping and the consumption picks up before Diwali, for travel, it picks up actually after Diwali. Therefore, we will have to just wait and watch for a little bit more time. Early signs are clearly there. Like, you know, I think we should just look at this overall consumption boost story, mostly looking at an overall GST reduction that has been announced, you know, sort of across the categories, which effectively puts more money into your pockets. That, coupled with the fact that there is more desire to travel, I'm quite optimistic that, you know, travel as a category will also benefit out of this overall sort of GST reduction and more disposable income in consumers' hands.
Speaker #1: Just add , you know , as you know , the the advanced purchase window , you know , particularly in India on travel is not very high .
Speaker #1: And , you know , as a result , it's kind of , you know , more bookings which happen in the , say the the last week or so ahead of , you know , schedule travel and therefore it's kind of slightly difficult to , you know , call out in terms of future bookings , you know , in our kind of a market .
Speaker #1: But like Rajesh called out , it's a it's a very positive development . And if you look at it from an Indian traveler point of view , you know , our kind of average ASP , you know , on the on the hotel accommodations tends to be below the 7500 kind of , you know , price point .
[Analyst 1]: Got it.
Rajesh Magow: Sachin, let me just add, as you know, the advance purchase window, particularly in India on travel, is not very high. As a result, it's more bookings which happen in the last week or so ahead of scheduled travel. Therefore, it's slightly difficult to call out in terms of future bookings in our kind of a market. Like Rajesh called out, it's a very positive development. If you look at it from an Indian traveler point of view, our average GST on the hotel accommodations tends to be below the $7,500 price point on which the GST reduction has been announced. Therefore, this will actually benefit bulk of the bookings. To that extent, it should be a very positive development on driving travel demand overall in the coming quarters.
Speaker #1: On which the GST reduction has been announced . So therefore , this will actually benefit , you know , bulk of bookings . So to that extent , it should be a , you know , a very positive development on , on driving kind of , you know , you know , travel demand overall in the coming quarters .
Speaker #3: Thanks , Mohit and Rajesh . Very clear . Second question , marketing expense is clearly increase in move to 5.2 as a percentage of gross bookings .
Speaker #3: I just wanted to confirm that this is mainly on the back of a slower consumer spend and less to do with competitive intensity .
Speaker #3: Is that a fair observation ?
Speaker #1: See , I'll just call out that , you know , if you it's also good to kind of look at the overall marketing and sales promotion spending in tandem with our kind of , you know , segment margins .
Speaker #1: And like I called out , you know , across the board , across segments , we have actually seen margins strengthening . And particularly in a weaker seasonality like Q2 , this tends to happen .
Speaker #1: And both on a quarter on quarter basis , as well as year on year basis , we have actually improved margins and therefore to some extent , that's also been kind of , you know , that's also got deployed .
[Analyst 1]: Thanks, Mohit and Rajesh. Very clear. Second question, marketing expenses clearly increase and move to 5.2% as a percentage of gross bookings. I just wanted to confirm that this is mainly on the back of a slower consumer spend and less to do with competitive intensity. Is that a fair observation?
Speaker #1: But the improved mix across segments and the improved margins across segments , this actually is kind of pretty much in line . You know , in terms of the call out that we had made .
Rajesh Magow: I'll just call out that, you know, if you, it's also good to kind of look at the overall marketing and sales promotion spending in tandem with our kind of, you know, segment margins. Like I called out, you know, across the board, across segments, we have actually seen margins strengthening. Particularly in a weaker seasonality like Q2, this tends to happen. Both on a quarter-on-quarter basis as well as a year-on-year basis, we have actually improved margins. Therefore, to some extent, that's also been kind of, you know, that's also got deployed. With the improved mix across segments and the improved margins across segments, this actually is kind of pretty much in line, you know, in terms of the call out that we had made.
Speaker #1: .
Speaker #3: The improvement in margin , is it seasonal and should it normalize going ahead or we should see the take rate improvement continuing both at and hotels going ahead .
Speaker #3: ?
Speaker #1: To some extent , it remains seasonal because , you know , depending upon , you know , high and low seasonality , there is at times a little bit of a variation .
Speaker #1: And then all the more so in the , in the in the current fiscal year , because like we have been talking , you know , the , the mix of air has been reducing .
Speaker #1: I mean , for , for unwanted reasons because , you know , the , the overall market is supply constrained . And here is the least kind of , you know , margin in terms of , you know , segmental margins per say .
Speaker #1: Therefore , overall margins have only improved . Right ? And that is something that we kind of taken care of going forward . If air rebounds , the blended margin might kind of , you know , go down a little bit , but across categories , we still kind of expect margins to remain largely in line with what they have been .
[Analyst 1]: Got it. Mohit, on this, the improvement in margin, is it seasonal and should it normalize going ahead, or should we see the take rate improvement continuing both at air and hotels going ahead?
Rajesh Magow: I see to some extent it remains seasonal because, you know, depending upon, you know, high and low seasonality, there is, you know, at times a little bit of a variation. All the more so in the current fiscal year because, like we have been talking, you know, the mix of air has been reducing. I mean, for unwanted reasons because, you know, the overall market is supply constrained. Here is the least kind of, you know, margin in terms of, you know, segmental margins per se. Therefore, overall blended margins have only improved, right? That is something that we've kind of taken care of. Going forward, if air rebounds, the blended margin might kind of, you know, go down a little bit. Across categories, we still kind of expect margins to remain largely in line with what they have been.
Speaker #1: Yeah .
Speaker #3: Got it . Third question on buyback . I just wanted to understand whether you guys have repurchased any stock in this quarter . And , you know , I know historically you guys said that there is a thought process to opportunistically look to buyback .
Speaker #3: So was looking to understand , you know , any buyback happened in this quarter .
Speaker #1: So so nothing that has happened through the quarter , I would have got reported . And therefore we call out that we've not kind of been able to do any buybacks in the current quarter , but we've made certain changes to the buyback program .
Speaker #1: One , you know , we've kind of now made it slightly more longer term , kind of extending the buyback program up to , you know , fiscal year ending 31st March 2030 , so that we have , you know , window available for the next four and a half years .
[Analyst 1]: Yeah. Got it. Third question on buyback. I just wanted to understand whether you guys have repurchased any stock in this quarter. I know historically you guys said that there is a thought process to opportunistically look to buy back. I was looking to understand, you know, any buyback happened in this quarter?
Speaker #1: The current buyback program had a balance left of $114 million . We've increased that to $200 million . And also increase the annual limit , which was earlier about 60 million or so , to about 100 million .
Speaker #1: So that , we can deploy a little more on the on the buyback programs . And also included the . 2013 , you know , the recently issued convertible notes maturing 2030 in the program so that we could kind of also buyback the CDs , which were recently issued .
Rajesh Magow: Sachin, nothing that has happened through the quarter as what I've got reported. Therefore, we called out that we've not kind of been able to do any buybacks in the current quarter. We made certain changes to the buyback program. One, we've kind of now made it slightly more longer term, kind of extending the buyback program up to fiscal year ending 31 March 2030 so that we have a window available for the next four and a half years. The current buyback program had a balance left of about $114 million. We've increased that to $200 million and also increased the annual limit, which was earlier about $60 million or so, to about $100 million so that we can deploy a little more on the buyback programs.
Speaker #1: So making it more comprehensive across the across shares , as well as both the convertible note offerings , which you have done in the past .
Speaker #1: So that's what I wanted to share . So I think we'll keep looking for , you know , opportunistic buybacks across shares and notes in the remainder part of the year .
Speaker #3: Emily , just to clarify , is it across both class A and class B shares at some point in the future if you want to buy the trip shares , this could be done as a part of this buyback .
Speaker #1: Actually , since you the class B shares , are kind of , you know , held by one investor and that strategic investor we have not included that so that there is absolute clarity that we are looking at repurchase program , deployment in the normal course happening for class A or for the convertible notes .
Rajesh Magow: We've also included the 2030 notes, the recently issued convertible notes maturing 2030, in the program so that we could kind of also buy back the CDs which are recently issued, making it more comprehensive across shares as well as both the convertible note offerings which we have done in the past. That's what I wanted to share. I think we'll keep looking for opportunistic buybacks across shares and notes in the remainder part of the year.
Speaker #1: Should we be kind of doing any repurchase programs on the class B shares ? We'll call it out specifically in that particular period , just like we did it .
Speaker #1: You know , in the previous quarter .
Speaker #3: Got it . And lastly , you know , obviously with this incremental 43 million kind of a finance cost going ahead as well from a positive net income , is it fair to say that , you know , going ahead , we should see sort of a negative net income , although your free cash flow doesn't change .
[Analyst 1]: Mohit, just to clarify, is it across both class A and class B shares? Are you at some point in the future, if you want to buy C-Trip shares, this could be done as a part of this buyback?
Rajesh Magow: Actually, since the class B shares are kind of held by one investor and that too a strategic investor, we have not included that so that there is absolute clarity that we are looking at a repurchase program deployment in the normal course happening for class A or for the convertible notes. Should we be kind of doing any repurchase programs on the class B shares, we'll call it out specifically in that particular period, just like we did in the previous quarter.
Speaker #3: But optically , you do see a sort of a negative net income at the company going ahead . Also .
Speaker #1: No , no , absolutely . Therefore I called out , you know , the the nuance around this . And as you know , these are actually .
Speaker #1: Zero coupon bonds . So it's more kind of , you know , in a manner of sorts , notional , you know , interest cost , which is kind of , you know , being charged to the PNL basis , the effective interest methodology under IFRS .
Speaker #1: But as such , there is no no real interest being paid , whether in cash or in any other form . So I just wanted to call that out .
[Analyst 1]: Got it. Lastly, obviously, with this incremental $43 million kind of a finance cost going ahead as well, from a positive net income, is it fair to say that, going ahead, we should see sort of a negative net income, although your free cash flow doesn't change? Optically, you do see a sort of a negative net income at the company going ahead also.
Speaker #3: Thank you . And all the best .
Speaker #1: Thank you .
Speaker #2: Thanks , Sachin . Next question is from the line of Manish Haruki of Goldman Sachs . Manish , please ask your question now .
Speaker #4: Thank you . Hi . Good evening team . Happy Diwali to all of you . So my first question is on the overall growth profile of the business .
Speaker #4: Now a quarter of your business is probably domestic . Air , internal revenue contribution . And that's not growing at all . For almost two quarters in a row .
Rajesh Magow: No, absolutely. I had called out the nuance around this. As you know, these are actually zero-coupon bonds. It is more, in a manner of sorts, notional interest cost, which is being charged to the P&L basis, the effective interest methodology under IFRS. As such, there is no real interest being paid, whether in cash or in any other form. I just wanted to call that out.
Speaker #4: But despite that , you have delivered 20% overall revenue growth because other segments are doing well now , when we think about your medium to long term growth outlook , where you've said underlying market grows 8 to 10% and you can grow two x of that , so you're already in line with your medium long term growth outlook .
Speaker #4: But as domestic air improves , shouldn't we expect that the 20% revenue growth number further accelerates from here ? Or you think that you know , the bus segment , etc.
[Analyst 1]: All right. Thank you, and all the best.
Speaker #4: , are outbound , may decelerate from the current base . So even though domestic air may improve overall growth on revenue for the company probably remains around 20% level .
Rajesh Magow: Thank you.
Vipul Garg: Thanks, Sachin. Next question is from the line of Manish Rukia of Goldman Sachs. Manish, you may please ask your question now.
[Analyst 2]: Thank you, Vipul. Hi, good evening, team. Happy Diwali to all of you. My first question is on the overall growth profile of the business. Now, a quarter of your business is probably domestic air in terms of revenue contribution, and that's not growing at all for almost two quarters in a row. Despite that, you have delivered 20% overall revenue growth because other segments are doing well. When we think about your medium to long-term growth outlook, where you said underlying market grows 8% to 10%, and you can grow 2X of that, you're already in line with your medium long-term growth outlook. As domestic air improves, shouldn't we expect that the 20% revenue growth number further accelerates from here? You think that the bus segment, etc., or outbound may decelerate from the current base?
Speaker #4: So just wanted to get your puts and takes around that debate .
Speaker #1: Happy Diwali . You know Manish as well . And you know great question . And you know I think one of the you know , advantages that we kind of keep calling out , for ourselves is that we are a one stop shop in terms of travel services or ancillary services .
Speaker #1: And what that allows us is just in case there is there is kind of weakness in any particular segment . There is an ability to try and drive , you know , incremental growth through the other segments .
Speaker #1: And similarly , if you look at it on the on the demand side , also having kind of , you know , multiple platforms targeting , say , across retail , B2B and corporate kind of , you know , demand , there is opportunity to kind of , you know , leverage each demand segment depending upon , you know , whether there is weakness in any of them and therefore dial up the other ones .
[Analyst 2]: Even though domestic air may improve, overall growth on revenue for the company probably remains around 20% level. Just wanted to get your outputs and takes around that debate.
Rajesh Magow: Happy Diwali, you know, Manish as well. Great question. I think one of the advantages that we kind of keep calling out for ourselves is that we are a one-stop shop in terms of travel services or ancillary services. What that allows us is, just in case there is kind of weakness in any particular segment, there is an ability to try and drive incremental growth through the other segments. Similarly, if you look at it on the demand side also, having kind of multiple platforms targeting, say, across retail, B2B, and corporate kind of demand, there's opportunity to leverage each demand segment depending upon whether there is weakness in any of them, and therefore, dial up the other ones. I think we'll continue to do that. Now, hopefully, if you really see, despite these tough macro conditions, we've still been able to post growth in the 20s.
Speaker #1: So I think we'll continue to do that now . Hopefully , if you really see , despite this , you know , tough macro conditions , we've still been able to kind of , you know , post the post growth in the 20s and therefore like we had mentioned during the last quarter , also , we do remain , you know , positive and hopeful that , you know , we'll be growing in the 20s for the full fiscal year despite , you know , the , the one offs for , for the first half of the year and hopefully , you know , kind of air in particular bounces back .
Speaker #1: But hope that we are able to inch up the overall growth , you know , from being at the low end of 20s to kind of , you know , being more closer to the mid end of the 20 .
Speaker #1: So let's see , it's very difficult to call out how each of these segments will kind of , behave , whether on the supply side or the demand side .
Speaker #1: But yes, the overall strategy is to kind of keep driving growth in the 20s in the medium to long term.
Rajesh Magow: Therefore, like we had mentioned during the last quarter also, we do remain positive and hopeful that we'll be growing in the 20s for the full fiscal year despite the one-offs for the first half of the year. Hopefully, if kind of air, kind of domestic air in particular bounces back, we hope that we are able to inch up the overall growth from being at the low end of 20s to being more closer to the mid end of the 20s. Let's see. It's very difficult to call out how each of these segments will behave, whether on the supply side or on the demand side. Yes, the overall strategy is to keep driving growth in the 20s in the medium to long term.
Speaker #4: Sure . Thanks , and maybe a follow up on that . I mean , you're seeing growth in the 20s for the full fiscal year .
Speaker #4: And to confirm this is despite the fact that March quarter should have a very strong base because of come last year , which would have impacted almost all your segments quite positively .
Speaker #4: So despite that , for a full year , Q1 19% , Q2 20% . And you're saying overall full fiscal still should end up 20% despite that base , just to confirm ?
Speaker #1: Absolutely right . And and I know there are these kind of one offs that we had in the previous quarter on the positive side , and we have had a few negative , you know , kind of one offs in this year , particularly in H1 .
Speaker #1: But we're still keeping fingers crossed and hoping that we'll kind continue to grow in the continue to grow in the 20s .
Speaker #4: Right . Thank you for clarifying . My second question is on competition and at an overall level , right ? I mean , process on used to be your largest shareholder until a few years ago , and now they have acquired a significant minority stake in one of your competitors .
[Analyst 2]: Sure. Thanks, Mohit. Maybe a follow-up on that. Right? I mean, you're saying growth in the 20s for the full fiscal year. To confirm, this is despite the fact that March quarter should have a very strong base because of Qum last year, which would have impacted almost all your segments quite positively. Despite that, for a full year, Q1 19%, Q2 20%, and you're saying overall full fiscal still should end up 20% despite that base, just to confirm.
Speaker #4: And at least , you know , publicly available data on air and bus volumes , of course , of a low base . They seem to have grown faster than you over the last 3 or 4 quarters .
Rajesh Magow: No, you're absolutely right, Manish. I know there are these kind of one-offs that we had in the previous quarter on the positive side. We have had a few negative kind of one-offs in this year, particularly in H1. We're still keeping fingers crossed and hoping that we'll kind of continue to grow in the 20s.
Speaker #4: So, is there anything to read into that? And how should we think about any new entrants' ability to also, maybe, expand into the hotel segment and, you know, potential competitive intensity in that going forward? Your thoughts there would be helpful.
Speaker #1: Thoughts over there . You know , one overall , I would say it's always good to see increasing interest for investments in the travel industry .
[Analyst 2]: Right. Thank you for clarifying. My second question is on competition and at an overall level, right? I mean, Prosus and Naspers used to be your largest shareholder until a few years ago. Now they have acquired a significant minority stake in one of your competitors. At least, based on publicly available data on air and bus volumes, of course, off a low base, they seem to have grown faster than you over the last three or four quarters. Is there anything to read into that? How should we think about any new entrant's ability to also maybe expand into the hotel segment and potential competitive intensity in that going forward? Your thoughts there would be helpful.
Speaker #1: As such . Right . So it's a welcome sign . In fact , if you look at it from a . From our own kind of , vantage point of view , just last quarter we had almost done like a $3.1 billion transaction .
Speaker #1: But that was essentially to kind of repurchase class B shares . Right . And while we had initially budgeted to deploy close to about $200 million from the balance sheet , but we didn't have to do this in view of the significant interest that we saw in the primary offerings .
Speaker #1: You know , to fund the to fund the repurchase . So I think clearly there is there is increasing interest in the in the overall travel industry .
Rajesh Magow: A couple of thoughts over there. One, overall, I would say it's always good to see increasing interest for investments in the travel industry as such, right? It's a welcome sign. In fact, if you look at it from our own kind of vantage point of view, just last quarter, we had almost done like a $3.1 billion transaction. That was essentially to repurchase class B shares, right? While we had initially budgeted to deploy close to about $200 million from the balance sheet, we didn't have to do this in view of the significant interest that we saw in the primary offerings to fund the repurchase. I think clearly there is increasing interest in the overall travel industry. If you look at it overall, India, again, is a very, very large market, growing well. There is also opportunity for driving online penetration.
Speaker #1: And if you look at it overall , India again is a very , very kind of a very large market growing well . And then there is also kind of , you know , opportunity for driving online penetration .
Speaker #1: Although I would say that the segments , you know , with kind of , you know , I would say initial offshoots of , you know , online penetration have changed .
Speaker #1: So ten years back , it might have been more accommodation , which was maybe in the in the early single digits of online penetration and therefore we it seem competitive intensity going much , much higher in that segment .
Speaker #1: You know about a decade back . But today those segments have changed . And if you and if you know , as we have been calling out , we have ourselves been pretty aggressive in terms of driving online penetration , adding a lot more new segments and more new travel services , ancillary services on the platform .
Speaker #1: So I don't really see any big concern . And the other factor is also that over the last 25 years , if you look at it , we have continuously invested behind driving online penetration across segments .
Rajesh Magow: Although I would say that the segments with initial offshoots of online penetration have changed. Ten years back, it might have been more accommodation, which was maybe in the early single digits of online penetration. Therefore, we had seen competitive intensity going much, much higher in that segment about a decade back. Today, those segments have changed. As we have been calling out, we have also been pretty aggressive in terms of driving online penetration, adding a lot more new segments and a lot more new travel services, ancillary services on the platform. I don't really see any big concern. The other fact is also that over the last 25 years, if you look at it, we have continuously invested behind driving online penetration across segments.
Speaker #1: Now , whether it is transport , whether it is accommodation or whether it is other ancillary travel services , we have been doing that on a consistent basis and whenever any other , you know , players in the in the market have also done that , we have generally ended up gaining , you know , on account of the overall expense because , you know , ultimately these are category driving spends .
Speaker #1: And as a market leader , you tend to gain if the overall kind of , you know , investments in in driving online penetration goes up .
Speaker #1: So we think of it more on those terms and remain pretty much kind of , you know , stay on course on our own , driving our own agenda , which is largely to say that we keep driving growth much ahead of , you know , the industry growth at a significant multiple .
Rajesh Magow: Whether it is transport, whether it is accommodation, or whether it is other ancillary travel services, we have been doing that on a consistent basis. Whenever any other players in the market have also done that, we have generally ended up gaining on account of the overall expense because ultimately, these are category driving spends. As a market leader, you tend to gain if the overall investments in driving online penetration goes up. We think of it more on those terms and remain pretty much kind of, you know, stay on course on our own driving our own agenda, which is largely to say that we keep driving growth much ahead of, you know, the industry growth at a significant multiple.
Speaker #1: And we continue to be market leader across kind of , you know , travel segments , whether it is transport , whether it is accommodation or ancillary services , making sure that , you know , both Makemytrip and go , I remain the top two brands and Redbus remains pretty much the top ground transport brand , you know , for all Indian travelers .
Speaker #1: I'll maybe just add one more point . Manish , if you go back in history a little bit and go deeper , you would realize that , you know , the , the share shift .
Rajesh Magow: We continue to be a market leader across kind of, you know, travel segments, whether it is transport, whether it is accommodation, or ancillary services, making sure that, you know, both MakeMyTrip and Goibibo remain the top two OTA brands. redBus remains pretty much the top ground transport brand, you know, for all Indian travelers. That's the broader kind of, you know, response that I would have. I don't see much of any.
Speaker #1: if you really see from an OTA standpoint , you would see at least in the Indian market , the share shift has happened .
Speaker #1: Interstate between the existing players and the new old challenger that sometimes appears and not necessarily you know , we've seen impact on our either the the growth rate or the market share gain over the years .
Mohit Kabra: Yeah. No, I think you've covered it all. I'll maybe just add one more point. Manish, if you go back in history a little bit and go deeper, you would realize that the share shift, I mean, firstly, the investments have come in. It's not for the first time the investment has not come in in the travel and tourism market and specifically in the OTA segment. They have come in the past. Disruptive investments have also come in the past. If you really see from an OTA standpoint, you would see at least in the Indian OTA market, the share shift has happened into, say, between the existing players and the new or challengers that sometimes appear. Not necessarily, we've seen impact on either the growth rate or the market share gain over the years.
Speaker #1: And that's because of the fact that one of course , we will have to , you know , continuously keep executing our strategies well and keep innovating for consumer experience all the time .
Speaker #1: But also the fact that over the years that the brand is and , you know , in , in a consumer's mind , all our three brands have got established very , very firmly .
Speaker #1: And which obviously gives you sort of the benefit from , from a , you know , sort of dealing with any of the new competition perspective , etc.
Speaker #1: , as well . So I think we should just keep that thing also in mind . I guess both the points one , that this is not the first time investment when investment comes in overall market grows , which is good news .
Speaker #1: And then historically , if you really go deeper , you would realize that this the the share shift has happened pretty much if at all within the , you know , sort of existing players and the new comers .
Mohit Kabra: That's because of the fact that, one, of course, we will have to continuously keep executing our strategies well and keep innovating for consumer experience all the time. Also, the fact that over the years that the brand is, and in the consumer's mind, all our three brands have got established very, very firmly, which obviously gives you sort of the benefit from dealing with any of the new competition perspective, et cetera, as well. I think we should just keep that thing also in mind. I guess both the points. One, that this is not the first time investment. When investment comes in, overall market grows, which is good news. Historically, if you really go deeper, you would realize that the share shift has happened pretty much, if at all, within the existing players and the newcomers. That cumulatively, it doesn't really change too much.
Speaker #1: And then that cumulatively , it doesn't really change too much .
Speaker #4: Thank you Rajesh , I really appreciate you providing that color . All the best .
Speaker #1: Thank you . Manish .
Speaker #2: Thanks , Manish . The next question is from the line of Aditya Suresh of Macquarie . Aditya , please ask your question now .
Speaker #2: Yeah . Thank you . I two questions . So first is just on the guidance in itself . So when we speak about 20% , can you just reiterate again at what line are you speaking about .
Speaker #2: Is it on a count basis? Gross booking adjusted revenue versus overall revenue? Because I think there are distinctly different kinds of dynamics at play depending on which one you're looking at.
Speaker #2: Because even if I look at overall gross bookings , we're now the first six months sub 10% , right ? So can you clarify that the guidance in itself , when you speak about 20% , what you're specifically referring to ?
[Analyst 2]: Thank you, Rajesh. I really appreciate you providing that color. All the best.
Mohit Kabra: Thank you, Manish.
Vipul Garg: Thanks, Manish. The next question is from the line of Aditya Suresh of Macquarie. Aditya, you may please ask your question now.
Speaker #1: Yeah . Well , you know , there is no I mean , we don't necessarily kind of , you know , put out a guidance , but more directionally , how are we kind of seeing growth coming in .
[Analyst 2]: Thank you, Vipul. I have two questions. First is just on the guidance in itself. When we speak about 20%, can you just reiterate again at what line are you all speaking about? Is it on count terms, gross booking, adjusted revenue, overall revenue? I think there are different kinds of dynamics which are at play depending on which line you're looking at. Even if I look at overall gross bookings, we're now the first six months sub 10%, right? Can you still clarify the guidance in itself? When you speak about 20%, what are you all specifically referring to?
Speaker #1: And that's in terms of , the adjusted margin that we put . So if you get , you know , the script also we have called out the adjusted growth and it's largely on that metric that we kind of look at it .
Speaker #1: And the simple reason being adjusted margin is kind of a number , which is kind of called out in line with how kind of , you know , OTA revenues are looked worldwide , you know , across segments because , you know , we do have some segments where we report on a gross basis , say , for instance , on the packaging side and similarly , we do have kind of , you know , certain amount of customer spends , which are otherwise kind of , you know , treated as as deductions from revenue from an IFRS basis point of view .
Rajesh Magow: Yeah, it's a while, you know, there's no, I mean, we don't necessarily kind of, you know, put out a guidance, but more directionally, how are we kind of, you know, seeing growth coming in? That's in terms of, you know, the adjusted margin that we report. If you look at, you know, through the script also, we have called out, you know, the adjusted margin growth. It's largely on that metric that we kind of, you know, look at it. The simple reason being adjusted margin is kind of, you know, the number which is kind of, you know, called out in line with how kind of, you know, OTA revenues are looked worldwide, you know, across segments. You know, we do have some segments where we report on a gross basis, say, for instance, on the packages side.
Speaker #1: So, it is an adjusted margin basis that we are calling out. And if you look at it, adjusted margin across segments, then this is broadly the trajectory that we are kind of looking at.
Speaker #1: This might come in in terms of different , you know , adjusted growth across segments . But holistically all the segments put together is where we are kind of looking at remaining in the 20s .
Speaker #2: Thanks . And then just specificly on hotels . Right . So for this quarter , when I look at this in terms of bookings up 18% , gross booking value is up 13 .
Speaker #2: IFRS 17 is up five , right . And I appreciate the kind of foreign currency impacts here going on as well in that 5% revenue number , which is reporting .
Rajesh Magow: Similarly, we do have kind of, you know, a certain amount of customer acquisition spends, which are otherwise kind of, you know, treated as deductions from revenue from an IFRS basis point of view. It is on an adjusted margin basis that we are calling out. If you look at it, adjusted margin across segments, then this is broadly the trajectory that we are kind of looking at. Now, this might come in in terms of different, you know, adjusted margin growth across segments. Holistically, all the segments put together is where we are kind of looking at remaining in the 20s.
Speaker #2: But clearly there seems to be one is both as you're seeing more bookings . Yes . But the value per booking is going down .
Speaker #2: And also, the take rate on that booking is also going down, right? So can you just, like, speak through that theme which you're observing?
Speaker #1: Actually not . And maybe I'll just , you know , kind of value once again , as I called out in the script , also , you know , there is a lot of , you know , foreign currency translation impact , you know , particularly in this quarter , actually , the adjusted margin growth in our standalone hotels business , we just called out as at about 23.1% , you know , in the current quarter , in fact , actually , it changed up significantly from the previous quarter , during which it was at about 18.5% .
[Analyst 2]: Thanks, Mohit. Specifically on hotels, for this quarter, when I look at this in count terms, your number of bookings is up 18%. Gross booking value is up 13%. IFRS revenue is up 5%, right? I appreciate there are kind of foreign currency impacts here going on as well in that 5% revenue number which you're reporting. Clearly, there seems to be one is both as you're seeing more bookings, yes, but the value per booking is going down. Also, the take rate on that said booking is also going down, right? Can you just speak through that theme which you're observing?
Speaker #1: So , you know , the adjusted margin growth has come in much stronger . And generally tends to come in , you know , better than , you know , the overall volume growth .
Speaker #1: Now , this does change depending upon how the ASPs are behaving , how the overall kind of margin is trending in the category .
Speaker #1: This particular quarter . Actually , even from a margin point of view , we saw margin improvement coming through both on a quarter on quarter basis as well as on a year on year basis .
Rajesh Magow: Actually, not, Aditya. Maybe I'll just, you know, kind of go to once again as I had called out in the script also. There's a lot of, you know, foreign currency translation impact, particularly in this quarter. Actually, the adjusted margin growth in our standalone hotels business, we just called out as at about 23.1% in the current quarter. In fact, it's inched up significantly from the previous quarter during which it was at about 18.5%. The adjusted margin growth has come in much stronger and generally tends to come in better than the overall volume growth. Now, this does change depending upon how the ASPs are behaving and how the overall kind of margin is trending in the category. This particular quarter, actually, even from a margin point of view, we saw margin improvement coming through both on a quarter-on-quarter basis as well as on a year-on-year basis.
Speaker #1: So actually , it's held pretty well . And therefore maybe , you know , I'll just guide you back to those sections of the script that I just called out just from a clarification point of view .
Speaker #2: Okay . And then in terms of the Ansari business , right , so , so here obviously kind of higher ticket segments also forth , you've had a few new product launches in this quarter .
Speaker #2: So for example , I observed something like experiences in City , which I think is new for you all . You have a visa offering as well .
Speaker #2: Can you maybe speak about some of these new new kind of revenue streams within ancillary services ?
Speaker #1: Actually , on the on the ancillary side or the other segment , if you look at it over the last couple of years , have continuously been adding a variety of ancillary services .
Speaker #1: So , you know , it started with CBB , you know , forex like about three years back , we've dialed up intercity cramps over the last two years or so .
Rajesh Magow: It's held pretty well. Therefore, maybe, I'll just guide you back to those sections of the script that I just called out just from a clarification point of view.
Speaker #1: We have now also kind of , you know , this particular year we had called out specifically that we would be kind of , you know , focusing on adding a lot of , you know , tools and activities , you know , on the experiences side , as part of the other segment .
[Analyst 2]: Okay. In terms of the ancillary business, right? Here, obviously, kind of higher take rate segments and so forth. You've had a few new product launches in this quarter. For example, I observed something like Experiences In City, which I think is new for you all. You have a Visa offering as well. Can you maybe speak about some of these new kind of revenue streams within ancillary services?
Speaker #1: So , yes , we'll continue to keep adding , you know , a lot more on this segment . You know , even going forward as well .
Speaker #1: So and you will see that kind of , you know , being called out . In fact , I'd also in my script , I'd have called out that almost all the ancillary services , whether it is , you know , travel insurance or forex etc.
Rajesh Magow: Actually, on the ancillary side or the other segment, if you look at it over the last couple of years, you've continuously been adding a variety of ancillary services. It started with, say, maybe Forex like about three years back. If you've dialed up intercity cabs, I want to know over the last two years or so, we have now also kind of, this particular year, we had called out specifically that we would be focusing on adding a lot of tools and activities on the experiences side as part of the other segment. Yes, we'll continue to keep adding a lot more on this segment, even going forward as well. You'll see that kind of being called out. In fact, I had also in my script called out that almost all the ancillary services, whether it is travel insurance or Forex, etc., have done well.
Speaker #1: , done well . And there are two kind of , you know , transport led services in the in the other segment , which is largely cabs and more so intercity cabs and rails , which also have grown very well during the quarter .
Speaker #1: So the overall growth in the other category this quarter came in at about 29.7% . So broadly around the 30% mark . So continues to do very well .
Speaker #2: Thanks both . Thanks . The next question is from the line of Gaurav , the theory of Morgan Stanley . Gaurav , you may please ask your question now .
Speaker #5: Hi . Happy Diwali and congrats on resilient performance in a tough macro environment . My first question is on your
Speaker #5: would like Makemytrip to be the default search engine for travel . It's a pretty interesting comment and also you shared quite a bit of interesting have metrics around your engagement in the AI assistant .
Rajesh Magow: There are two transport-led services in the other segment, which is largely cabs and more so intercity cabs and rails, which also have grown very well during the quarter. The overall growth in the other category this quarter came in at about 29.7%. Broadly around the 30% mark. It continues to do very well.
Speaker #5: When I look at the measure of success over time , I thought that it would be the overall traffic increasing pace of new customer acquisition , improving and the better repeat rates .
Speaker #5: When you look at some of the early trends, how have these matrices fared?
Speaker #1: Yeah , very good point . And thank you . Firstly and Happy Diwali to you too as well . And Gaurav , I have to say upfront and like like I said , right , it's beta launch and the insights are very encouraging .
Mohit Kabra: Thanks, Mohit.
Vipul Garg: Thanks, Aditya. The next question is from the line of Gaurav Ratheri of Morgan Stanley. Gaurav, you may please ask your question now.
[Analyst 2]: Hi, happy Diwali, and congrats on resilient performance in a tough macro environment. My first question is on your comment that you made that you would like MakeMyTrip to be the default search engine for travel. It's a pretty interesting comment. You shared quite a bit of interesting metrics around your engagement in the AI assistant. When I look at the measure of success over time, I thought that it would be the overall traffic increasing, pace of new customer acquisition improving, and the better repeat rates. When you look at some of the early trends, how have these metrics fared?
Speaker #1: And right now the , the phase is only to collect insights and and see how do we sort of do two things . One , keep fine tuning the product and keep improving the interaction so that the experience for the end consumer is very relevant , very personalized , very to the context , etc.
Speaker #1: , and , and the other is to also keep track and see how are they adapting to this new interface . You know , specifically this , you know , end to end , let's say trip planning tool that we were talking about and the comment around , you know , we want to make trip to be the first port of call has always been there .
Rajesh Magow: Yeah, very good point. Thank you firstly, and happy Diwali to you too as well. Gaurav, I have to say upfront, like I said, right, it's beta launch, and the insights are very encouraging. Right now, the phase is only to collect insights and see how do we sort of do two things. One, keep fine-tuning the product and keep improving the interaction so that the experience for the end consumer is very relevant, very personalized, very to the context, etc. The other is to also keep track and see how are they adopting to this new interface, you know, specifically this, you know, Maira end-to-end, let's say, trip planning tool that we were talking about. The comment around, you know, we want MakeMyTrip to be the first port of call has always been there, even in this new interface, more from a trip planning perspective.
Speaker #1: But even in this new interface . More from Trip Planning perspective . We've been perhaps the first port of call for the transactions , but also for the trip .
Speaker #1: Planning is our attempt this time around with this new interface . And I think it has a lot of sort of promise that it offers .
Speaker #1: And we'll see how it goes . But in terms of the success metrics that you talked about , ultimately those are the two metrics that you just called out .
Speaker #1: We will see new user acquisition because we are looking at going really deeper and pushing the adoption through voice feature , as well as vernacular .
Speaker #1: And , you know , as I mentioned right now , you know , Hindi and lot of the Hinglish conversations happening , but but we are looking at adding more regional organizations .
Speaker #1: And this time around , and as we hear some of the quality of the calls and the handling by the by Myra , which is the digital agent , it's very , very close to or even in some cases better to , to the human agent .
Rajesh Magow: See, we've been perhaps the first port of call for the transactions, but also for the trip planning is our attempt this time around with this new interface. I think it has a lot of sort of promise that it offers. We'll see how it goes. In terms of the success metrics that you talked about, ultimately, those are the two metrics that you just called out. We will see new user acquisition because we are looking at going really deeper and pushing the adoption through voice feature as well as vernacular. You know, as I mentioned, right now, you know, Hindi and a lot of the English conversations are happening, but we are looking at adding more regional conversations.
Speaker #1: So the LMS this time around , various models and , you know , and and on top of that , the , the amount of work that happens with our own data to fine tune with the grounding internally is producing fantastic results in terms of just , you know , interaction with the consumer , even if you are like from hinterland and so on .
Speaker #1: Right ? So , so , so there is a lot of promise right now . But the consumer adoption journey is going to take time as it takes time for every new interface .
Speaker #1: And we will see how it goes . And as , as as and when like we shared some early trends already as and when we see some meaningful impact happening on this particular new interface that we launched , we will definitely come out and share .
Rajesh Magow: This time around, as we hear some of the quality of the calls and the handling by Maira, which is a digital agent, it's very, very close to, or even in some cases, better to the human agent. The LLMs this time around, various models, and you know, on top of that, the amount of work that happens with our own data to fine-tune with the grounding internally is producing fantastic results in terms of just, you know, interaction with the consumer, even if you are like from hinterland and so on, right? There is a lot of promise right now, but the consumer adoption journey is going to take time, as it takes time for every new interface. We will see how it goes.
Speaker #1: Having said that , out , if you keep this aside for a minute , because this is a new , completely new interface that has been launched very enhanced .
Speaker #1: There are many other places where we've been leveraging AI, and there we've started seeing the impact. We've started seeing the impact.
Speaker #1: For example , in post sales already , you know , the number of calls that are being now handled seamlessly without any human intervention is going up .
Speaker #1: This is over and above the current sort of , you know , automated self-service that we already had . There are there is a conversion improvement that we've seen in specifically in the hotels and , and accommodation side with the many AI powered features using , you know , let's say enhanced videos .
Rajesh Magow: As and when, like we shared some early trends already, as and when we see some meaningful impact happening on this particular new interface that we launched, we will definitely come out and share. Having said that, if you keep this aside for a minute, because this is a new, completely new interface that has been launched, very enhanced, there are many other places where we've been leveraging AI. There, we've started seeing the impact. We've started seeing the impact, for example, in post-sales already. You know, the number of calls that are being now handled seamlessly without any human intervention is going up. This is over and above the current sort of, you know, automated self-service that we already had.
Speaker #1: Using video LMS , etc. and many other interventions with persuasions which have been able which we've been doing in our current interface that is already there in the funnel and that has seen very minutely we go and we look at whether the conversion rate all you know , literally on an , A , B framework that we've seen improvement and and it is only going to , to sort of continuously keep improving as we sort of not only make the right kind of interventions , but also make it a lot more relevant and a lot more sort of to the context , to the consumers .
Rajesh Magow: There is a conversion improvement that we've seen specifically in the hotels and accommodation side with the many AI-powered features using, you know, let's say, enhanced videos, using video LLMs, etc., and many other interventions with persuasions, which we've been doing in our current interface that is already there in the funnel. That has seen very minutely, we go and we look at whether the conversion rate all, you know, literally on an AB framework, that we've seen improvement. It is only going to continuously keep improving as we not only make the right kind of interventions, but also make it a lot more relevant and a lot more to the context to the consumers. On this particular one, we'll come back as and when we have more data on impact matrices, as you spoke about.
Speaker #1: So but on this particular one , we'll come back as an as and when we have more data on impact matrices , as you , as you spoke about .
Speaker #5: Thank you for the detailed answer . Rajesh . My second question is for Mohit . You've shared in the past , you know , profitability benchmark that you look to aspire .
Speaker #5: You've already reached that 1.8% . You talked about 1.8 to 2% range . So in pursuit of balancing growth and profitability , how should we think about next 1 to 3 years in terms of this range , meaning what you said already , or do you think there could be an upside to this range because you have already gotten to 1.8 in the current year .
Speaker #1: At least to to begin with ? Right now , you know , like we've been saying , we do believe there is an opportunity to kind of , you know , dial up growth , particularly as , say , for instance , you know , the the domestic , you know , air ticketing industry kind of bounces back to good growth .
Speaker #1: So that's something that we want to kind of , you know , keep in mind and therefore if you would ask me , at least in the shorter term , you know , the focus would be lot more tilted towards kind of , you know , driving the growth agenda because , you know , even at 1.8% , like we have always called out , you know , one of the rationales for the 1.8 to 2% was that if we even benchmark with the best in class in terms of , you know , the margins globally with our kind of , you know , mix of segments between transport and accommodation , with accommodation at about 40% ballpark , you know , we do believe we will compare with the best .
[Analyst 2]: Thank you for the detailed answer, Rajesh. My second question is for Mohit. You've shared in the past, you know, profitability benchmark that you look to aspire. You've already reached that 1.8%. You had talked about 1.8% to 2% range. In pursuit of balancing growth and profitability, how should we think about the next one to three years in terms of this range, meaning what you said already, or do you think there could be an upside to this range because you have already gotten to 1.8% in the current year?
Rajesh Magow: At least to begin with right now, like we have been saying, we do believe there is an opportunity to kind of dial up growth, particularly as, for instance, the domestic air ticketing industry kind of bounces back to good growth. That's something that we want to keep in mind. Therefore, if you would ask me, at least in the shorter term, the focus would be a lot more tilted towards driving the growth agenda. Because, even at 1.8%, like we have always called out, one of the rationals for the 1.8% to 2% was that if we even benchmark with the best in class in terms of the OTA margins globally, with our mix of segments between transport and accommodation, with accommodation at about 40% ballpark, we do believe we'll compare with the best.
Speaker #1: However , longer term , like when you say the next three years or so , over the next three years . Particularly if the if the mix of accommodation , you know , goes up , you know , in the , in the overall adjusted margin by which it is expected to , then I don't see a reason why we should not have the potential to kind of , you know , put out a slightly better number than what we have already called out .
Speaker #1: But let's see, the next few years should be an interesting journey on that count.
Speaker #5: Thank you, and all the best.
Speaker #1: Thanks , Gaurav .
Speaker #2: Thanks , Gaurav . We've almost run out of time . This was the last question . Over to you , Rajesh , for your closing comments .
Speaker #1: Thank you . Thank you and thank you everyone . Once again . Thank you for your patience and , you know , good line of questioning as always .
Speaker #1: We look forward to seeing you next quarter. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.
Rajesh Magow: However, longer term, like when you say the next three years or so, over the next three years, particularly if the mix of accommodation goes up in the overall just margin pie, which it is expected to, then I don't see a reason why we should not have the potential to put out a slightly better number than what we've already called out. Let's see. The next few years should be an interesting journey on that count.
[Analyst 2]: Thank you and all the best.
Rajesh Magow: Thanks, Gaurav.
Vipul Garg: Thanks, Gaurav. We've almost run out of time. This was the last question. Over to you, Rajesh, for your closing comments.
Rajesh Magow: Thank you. Thank you, Vipul. Thank you, everyone, once again. Thank you for your patience and good line of questioning. As always, we look forward to seeing you next quarter. Thank you.
Mohit Kabra: Thank you, everyone.
Vipul Garg: Thank you, everyone.