The outlook comes at a time when IndiaMART has been grappling with fluctuations in its paid subscriber base. Agarwal noted that additions have remained inconsistent over the past two years, with quarterly variations of 1,000–2,000 users. He attributed the pressure largely to weakness in the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment and broader geopolitical uncertainty.
“I think it is mainly due to subdued sentiment among SMEs in the past two months or so that this has been dented,” he said, adding that the company is working on improving product-market fit, particularly for entry-level offerings where churn remains elevated. Around half of IndiaMART’s customers in the higher-tier gold and platinum categories continue to perform well, he said.The company had earlier indicated a target of adding 2,000–3,000 subscribers per quarter, but Agarwal refrained from committing to a full-year outlook. “Until I can deliver multiple quarters of 2,000–3,000 additions per quarter, I can’t really guide for the entire year,” he said.
On the collections front, Agarwal said the business remains stable despite seasonal fluctuations. While collections declined sequentially, they rose 8–9% year-on-year on a standalone basis and about 13% on a consolidated basis.
IndiaMART’s accounting software arm, Busy, continues to be a bright spot. Agarwal said the platform added about 44,000 subscribers during the year and is now close to break-even. “Busy has become nearly break-even, and cash flow from operations is also healthy,” he said, noting quarterly operating cash flows of ₹5–10 crore and about ₹45 crore for the full year.
He added that Busy is expected to sustain around 25% growth with improving margins, contributing positively to the company’s overall performance.
IndiaMART also flagged that mark-to-market movements linked to interest rate changes could introduce volatility in quarterly earnings, although the broader annual performance remains steady.
The commentary follows a weak fourth-quarter earnings performance, where IndiaMART reported a 72.2% year-on-year decline in net profit to ₹50.2 crore. Revenue from operations rose 13.9% to ₹404.3 crore, while EBITDA increased marginally by 1.7% to ₹132.6 crore. EBITDA margin contracted to 32.8% from 36.7% a year earlier, reflecting cost pressures and operating challenges.
On Monday, IndiaMART stock was trading with decline of around 1.7% at ₹2066.90 per share. The Noida headquartered company currently has a market capitalisation of ₹12,422.45 crore and has delivered negative returns of around 16% over the past 6 months.
Also Read | IndiaMART Q4 results: Profit plunges 72%, margins contract; ₹60 dividend announcedBelow is the verbatim transcript of the interview.Q: What’s happening with regard to paid subscribers? It’s been declining for the last few quarters. What can you guide your investors to in terms of additions in this quarter and for the remainder of the fiscal year as well?Agarwal: In terms of paid subscribers, we have been facing this challenge for almost two years now, and there has been some 1,000–2,000 variation, either up or down, every quarter. We are taking measures wherever we can. We are trying to identify new scenarios where our product-market fit can be better. As I have guided earlier, almost 50% of our customers, who are in the gold and platinum tiers, continue to do well. However, in the entry-level silver tier, there is elevated churn, and we are continuing to work towards that.
Q: You know, that churn was running at around 7%. That’s the number that we have. The price hike was taken sometime in the middle of last quarter. Why hasn’t the churn stabilised yet? When you joined us earlier, you said that maybe it should stabilise soon and that you would go back to adding 2,000 subscribers every quarter. Do you think you will roll that back at some point in time, or continue with it regardless of the churn?
Agarwal: I think there have been geopolitical tensions as well, so our gross additions have also been impacted—not only because of the price but also because of the geopolitical environment. I don’t think these price hikes are significant enough to affect our gross additions. I think it is mainly due to subdued sentiment among SMEs in the past two months or so that this has been dented. Otherwise, in quarter four, we would have seen positive net additions.
Q: So, in FY27, what is your projection then?
Agarwal: As I said, we continue to look for improvement on this. Until I can deliver multiple quarters of 2,000–3,000 additions per quarter, I can’t really guide for the entire year.
Q: Tell us a little bit about collections. It was up on a year-on-year basis, but down on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
Agarwal: That’s always the case, because quarter four is typically very heavy in terms of collections. If you look historically as well, quarter four is almost 40% higher than quarter three. On a year-on-year basis, we have grown collections on a standalone basis by about 8–9%, and on a consolidated basis by about 13%. So I think we are fine on that side.
Q: What about Busy? We saw close to about 11,000 new licences during the quarter. What’s your target here? What are you aiming for with Busy, the software?
Agarwal: For Busy, this particular year we have added almost 44,000 new subscribers, and we continue to be bullish on it. Busy has become nearly break-even, and cash flow from operations is also healthy—anywhere between ₹5 crore and ₹10 crore per quarter. For the entire financial year, cash from operations was almost ₹45 crore. So Busy continues to perform well in a positive direction, with around 25% growth and improving margins.
Q: All right, so that’s what you’re guiding for Busy in the next year. Just a final question from my end—if you could, with all things considered, give us a simple outlook on FY27 in terms of what the Street should expect when it looks at your revenue, margins, and earnings.
Agarwal: On the margin side, we have always guided that anywhere around 33%, plus or minus 1–2%, is what we should be looking at. In terms of top-line growth, we continue to work towards double-digit growth, targeting about 10–12%. On the bottom line, or final earnings, mark-to-market movements every quarter—due to interest rate changes—create some volatility on a quarterly basis. However, if you look at it on a yearly basis, we are performing well on that front too.
