Latest news with #Busy
Time of India
7 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
IndiaMART Q1 Snapshot: Rs 153.5 cr profit, 29 mn enquiries, 1,500 new paying suppliers
IndiaMART InterMesh Ltd , the parent of India's leading B2B marketplace, reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 153.5 crore for Q1 FY26, up 34 per cent YoY but down 14 per cent sequentially due to higher taxes and expenses. Revenue from operations rose 12 per cent YoY to Rs 372.1 crore, driven by improved collections and deferred revenues. The company saw 29 million unique business enquiries, marking a 17 per cent YoY increase. Supplier storefronts grew 6 per cent YoY to 8.4 million, while paying suppliers stood at 2.18 lakh, a net addition of 1,500 during the quarter. Total expenses climbed to Rs 246.5 crore, reflecting investments in marketing, tech, and customer engagement. "The company remains focused on enhancing user experience, platform efficiency, and service offerings for SMEs," Dinesh Agarwal , CEO, IndiaMART, said. "The company continues to play a pivotal role in digitally empowering Indian businesses across categories and geographies," he further added. He further discussed the financial results and other plans of the company with ETRetail. Here are the edited excerpts: Q1 reported a 35 per cent YoY jump in profit, but there was a sequential decline due to taxes and higher spending. How should one read this? It's a timing issue. In Q1, we only needed to deposit 15 per cent of advance tax, while Q2 requires 45 per cent. So, the sequential dip is largely due to tax outflows and some arbitrage in other income. Operationally, EBITDA margins have stayed stable at 38–39 per cent. Could you walk us through the consolidated growth in terms of revenue from operations? What are the additional factors you believe will drive growth in the upcoming quarters? Our revenue growth is fundamentally linked to deferred revenue, which in turn stems from collections. In Q2 and Q3, our collections grew by 6 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. These gains gradually translate into deferred revenue, and eventually into topline growth. Essentially, our revenue growth reflects a 20-year moving average of our collection growth. If we break it down, around 9 per cent of growth came from the standalone average revenue per customer, about 1 per cent from the addition of new customers, and another 2–3 per cent from Busy , our accounting software subsidiary, which sees stronger traction in Q1, contributing to this quarter's uptick. Looking ahead, we'll focus on driving growth through three levers—higher ARPU, improved collections from existing customers, and deeper performance from Busy. Each of these is a critical contributor to our topline momentum. The recent dividend payout was significant. What's the broader message to shareholders? We continue to follow a disciplined capital allocation strategy. We generate over Rs 600 crore annually through operations and a few hundred crores more via treasury income. This is either reinvested into growth and acquisitions or returned to shareholders. Over the last 4–5 years, we've returned about 50 per cent of the cash generated. This year, we paid out Rs 300 crore in dividends i.e. Rs 50 per share, or 500 per cent. Shareholders appreciate that we're consistently improving cash flow, ROCE, and RoNW. With Rs 2,800 crore in cash reserves, no debt, and a negative working capital cycle, we're in a strong financial position, ensuring profitable growth. Around 1,500 new suppliers were onboarded in Q1. Where is most of this traction coming from? The majority of the new supplier additions are coming from the top 30–40 cities, excluding the eight major metros. That's where we're seeing the strongest momentum. How are you looking to strengthen supplier engagement going forward? We have a dedicated winback team that consistently works to re-engage past suppliers. That's an ongoing effort, and there's been no change to that process. What we're putting more focus on now is improving customer retention and increasing repeat usage, both of which are long-term efforts that we continue to prioritise. What initiatives are you taking to strengthen partnerships with your customers? This quarter, we saw a 15–16 per cent increase in unique business inquiries, compared to the usual 10–12 per cent. We invested Rs 6 crore in performance marketing and advertising across various media platforms, which helped boost demand by an additional 5–6 per cent. On the product side, we've improved inquiry quality through a category-led approach and collecting specific details like quantities, specifications, and units, which improves matchmaking relevancy. We've also limited the number of suppliers shown to a single buyer, improving the buyer's experience and reducing competition among sellers. Buyer repeat rate has climbed to 58 per cent, the highest in years, and supplier NPS is also at an all-time high. These enhancements directly support retention and reduce churn. Currently, churn among Platinum users is just 1 per cent, while it stands at 4–5 per cent for annual Silver subscribers, and 6–7 per cent for monthly Silver plans. If we can bring down Silver churn by even 2 per cent, it would lead to meaningful improvements in both revenue and long-term retention. What were the key investments or acquisitions this quarter, and what outcomes do you expect from them? Our biggest investment this quarter went into improving lead volume and quality through advertising and performance marketing. We spent Rs 6 crore last quarter, and our typical quarterly budget is Rs 10 crore. If performance continues to improve, we may raise that to Rs 9 crore this quarter. On the acquisition side, we increased our stake in Fleetx - a transport and fleet management platform catering to large and mid-sized enterprises. Fleetx raised Rs 100 crore from existing VCs, and we increased our stake from 17–18 per cent to 22 per cent. We've also raised our holding in Mobi Technologies to 31 per cent. These are follow-on investments in companies we've supported over the past 2–3 years. Are there any new product categories or segments you're planning to enter? We've already invested about Rs 700 crore into the accounting tech segment through two strategic acquisitions. It's still early days, but we expect results over the coming year. Beyond that, we remain open to evaluating new opportunities as they emerge.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Officer charged with sexually assaulting four women
A Sussex Police officer has been charged with sexually assaulting four women. Following an investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised that PC Ryan Busby, 25, be charged with four counts of sexual assault by touching, police said. The incidents are alleged to have happened with four women known to him on 20 December 2024 while Mr Busy was off duty. He will appear at Guildford Magistrates' Court on 8 July. The force says Mr Busy is suspended from duty. Sussex Police explained that the matter was referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct, which instructed that a local investigation by the force's professional standards department should be carried out. Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. HM Courts & Tribunal Service
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Busy Philipps urged Batman Ben Affleck to 'save' Oscars during Best Picture mishap
Busy Philipps urged Ben Affleck to "save" the night during the Oscars Best Picture mix-up in 2017 "because he was Batman". The 'Girls5Eva' actress had been seated next to the 52-year-old star - who portrayed the Caped Crusader in 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', 'Justice League', 'Suicide Squad', and 'The Flash' - at the Academy Awards when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway accidentally announced 'La La Land' had won the night's biggest honour, instead of correctly presenting it to 'Moonlight'. And Busy and best friend Michelle Williams recalled the confusion that occurred immediately afterwards and how they put their faith in Ben. Speaking on her show 'Busy This Week', Busy said: "We knew, cause we were right there in the front row. "We knew something weird was happening. Ben Affleck was next to me. You reminded me just earlier of what I said to him, which I totally forgot." Michelle explained: "You turned to him, and said, 'Do something! Do something!' Because he was Batman, and he was going to save the rest of us. "He was just as shocked as the rest of us." Busy added: "He was literally looking back at Matt Damon, who was sitting right behind his brother [Casey Affleck], who was, like, two doors down from you. And I don't know Ben Affleck. I just was like, 'He's Batman. He's a movie star. He can go onstage and handle it.' He could not. It turns out, it was very difficult to handle." A photo of the stars looking confused went viral at the time but Busy joked her show couldn't afford to use the image, so she and Michelle simply crossed their legs and dropped their mouths open to recreate it. She noted: "It's iconic." Shortly after the mishap took place, Busy, 46, described the confusion and how she and Michelle were among the first to realise what had happened. She explained on her Instagram Story at the time: ''La La Land' got up there, all of a sudden this stage manager or somebody who worked there with a microphone crouched in front of Casey [Affleck] and started whispering into his microphone really urgently and saying, 'It's a mistake! Moonlight is supposed to be Best Picture. It's a mistake! It's a mistake! Moonlight is Best Picture!' 'We all heard it right there — like right in the front. Nobody else heard it.'
Perth Now
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Busy Philipps urged Batman Ben Affleck to 'save' Oscars during Best Picture mishap
Busy Philipps urged Ben Affleck to "save" the night during the Oscars Best Picture mix-up in 2017 "because he was Batman". The 'Girls5Eva' actress had been seated next to the 52-year-old star - who portrayed the Caped Crusader in 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', 'Justice League', 'Suicide Squad', and 'The Flash' - at the Academy Awards when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway accidentally announced 'La La Land' had won the night's biggest honour, instead of correctly presenting it to 'Moonlight'. And Busy and best friend Michelle Williams recalled the confusion that occurred immediately afterwards and how they put their faith in Ben. Speaking on her show 'Busy This Week', Busy said: "We knew, cause we were right there in the front row. "We knew something weird was happening. Ben Affleck was next to me. You reminded me just earlier of what I said to him, which I totally forgot." Michelle explained: "You turned to him, and said, 'Do something! Do something!' Because he was Batman, and he was going to save the rest of us. "He was just as shocked as the rest of us." Busy added: "He was literally looking back at Matt Damon, who was sitting right behind his brother [Casey Affleck], who was, like, two doors down from you. And I don't know Ben Affleck. I just was like, 'He's Batman. He's a movie star. He can go onstage and handle it.' He could not. It turns out, it was very difficult to handle." A photo of the stars looking confused went viral at the time but Busy joked her show couldn't afford to use the image, so she and Michelle simply crossed their legs and dropped their mouths open to recreate it. She noted: "It's iconic." Shortly after the mishap took place, Busy, 46, described the confusion and how she and Michelle were among the first to realise what had happened. She explained on her Instagram Story at the time: ''La La Land' got up there, all of a sudden this stage manager or somebody who worked there with a microphone crouched in front of Casey [Affleck] and started whispering into his microphone really urgently and saying, 'It's a mistake! Moonlight is supposed to be Best Picture. It's a mistake! It's a mistake! Moonlight is Best Picture!' 'We all heard it right there — like right in the front. Nobody else heard it.'
Irish Independent
12-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Gary Neville's daily routine: 5am starts, gym and kids by 8am, asleep for 9:30pm
It was George Switzer, a team-mate from Manchester United's 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning team, who started the 'Busy' nickname because he was always 'buzzing' around. Now, as he straddles a growing business and media empire, life is even more hectic.
