Oyo Rooms might have pulled out of its IPO for the second time, but the company has reached a significant milestone in its 12-year journey.
Oyo Rooms has reported its first annual profit in FY24 of Rs. 100 crore. “We had our maiden net profitable financial year at nearly Rs 100 cr,” Aggarwal posted on X. “This was our eighth consecutive quarter of a positive EBITDA and we also have a cash balance of about Rs. 1000 cr,” he added. Aggarwal said that these were provisional numbers, but claimed that they would be close to the audited figures.
“The global credit rating firm Fitch has also taken note of our improved performance and strong cash flows, upgrading our credit rating. I see growth ahead not just in India with emerging travel trends such as premiumization, spiritual travel, business travel and conferences, destination weddings but also in our other key markets of Nordics, South East Asia, US and UK. FY25 will clearly be even more exciting,” Aggarwal added.
Oyo’s first annual profit comes weeks after the company pulled out of its IPO for the second time. On 17th May, Oyo had withdrawn the draft papers it had filed with SEBI. Instead, it had looked to raise money from private investors at a valuation of $4 billion, which was significantly lower than the $10 billion valuation it had once commanded. In 2021, Oyo had also filed for a Rs. 8,400 crore IPO, but had withdrawn its application that time as well.
But even as the company has had trouble going public, it’s managed to make its first profit. This puts Oyo in the ranks of companies including Zomato, Delhivery and Urban Company which have reported their first profits in recent quarters after more than a decade of losses. And if these companies can consistently generate profits going forward, they might end up creating massive amounts of value for themselves and their shareholders in the years to come.