Naukri share price jumps 8% after Q4 result; brokerages raise target prices; here's why

Naukri share price: Shares of Info Edge India, which owns portals such as naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com and Shiksha.com, rose 8 per cent in early trade on BSE on Friday, May 17, a day after the company announced its March quarter scorecard. Info Edge share price opened at ₹6043.85 apiece against its previous close of ₹5867.45 and soon jumped 8 per cent to the level of ₹6,338.55. Around 10 am, Naukri share price traded 6.90 per cent up at ₹6,272.40 on the BSE.

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Info Edge Q4 result

Info Edge on Thursday, May 16, reported a consolidated net profit of ₹88 crore for Q4FY24 against a loss of ₹503.2 crore in the same quarter last year.

The profit figure, however, was low on quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) terms. The company's net profit in Q3FY24 was ₹119.4 crore.

Consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter under review rose 8.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to ₹657.4 crore. In the same quarter last year, the company's revenue was ₹604.8 crore, while in Q3FY24, the revenue figure stood at ₹627.1 crore.

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The company said its recruitment business witnessed an uptick in Q4. Non-recruitment businesses continued to deliver robust performance.

"Revenues growth in the recruitment business was 3.4 per cent year on year, and for non-recruitment business verticals, namely 99acres.com (the real estate vertical), Jeevansathi.com (the matrimony business), and Shiksha.com (the education business) was 22.5 per cent, 29.2 per cent, and 22.2 per cent respectively," said the company.

The company announced a final dividend of ₹12 for the face value of ₹10, for FY24.

After the Q4 result announcement, shares of Info Edge ended 1.24 per cent lower at ₹5,867.45 apiece on BSE on Thursday.

Naukri share price trend

As of May 16 close, Naukri share price has surged 49 per cent over the last year, significantly outperforming the equity benchmark Sensex which has gained 19 per cent in the same period.

The stock hit its 52-week high of ₹6,355 on the BSE on April 9 this year and plumbed its 52-week low of ₹3,701.25 on May 18 last year.

Brokerages raise target price

Most brokerage firms expressed their positive views on the stock after the Q4 results. Several of them raise their target prices.

Brokerage firm Nuvama Wealth Management maintained a buy call on the stock after the company's Q4 result and raised the target price to ₹7,050 from ₹6,500 earlier, implying a 20 per cent upside potential.

The brokerage firm underscored that Info Edge reported an in-line Q4FY24 results.

Nuvama pointed out that the company's standalone EBITDA margin improved 20bp QoQ to 40.6 per cent. Recruitment margin reduced nearly 60bp QoQ to 57 per cent due to investment in capabilities.

“99acres reduced cash burn, taking the margin to 16.4 per cent compared to 16.6 per cent in Q3FY24. Jeevansathi and Shiksha saw significant improvement in margins. Management has reduced marketing expenses on Jeevansathi by 50 per cent YoY and expects it to breakeven soon,” Nuvama observed.

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"The management saw first signs of recovery in IT recruitment business as IT billing grew double digit. Attrition at IT Services companies has further reduced in Q4 while utilisation increased further. We believe hiring by IT companies shall improve further, which shall lead to billing growth acceleration. Moreover, a lower base shall support growth acceleration," Nuvama said.

Brokerage firm JM Financial has upgraded the stock to a 'buy' from a 'hold' and raised the target price to ₹7,000 from ₹5,600 earlier, citing billings growth slowdown in its cash cow recruitment segment appears bottomed out.

"Factors driving our view include (a) IT billings growing 11 per cent YoY in 4Q (after several quarters of de-growth), (b) April Jobspeak for IT sector turning positive YoY (after several months of continuous decline), (c) likely peak-out of capacity utilisation in some IT companies, (d) addition of new monetisation avenues (JobHai and AmbitionBox platforms) and (e) favourable base due to muted growth in FY24," said JM Financial.

The brokerage firm observed that strong execution drives robust billings growth in real estate and matrimonial segments despite curtailed marketing spending and high competitive intensity. JM Financial believes continuing these trends could improve the company’s standalone business margin profile in the medium term.

"We believe EBITDA margin can expand from 40.1 per cent in FY24 to 44.7 per cent in FY27. We raise the target price to ₹7,000 (from ₹5,600 earlier) based on (a) estimate upgrades, (b) the use of higher target multiples, (c) roll-forward, and (d) a recent increase in the trading price of its listed investee companies," said JM Financial.

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