Ixigo Targets Double-Digit Growth After Disruptions Weigh In Q2, CEO Says

Travel tech platform Ixigo on Wednesday had reported a consolidated loss of Rs 3.46 crore for the September quarter. Despite this, Aloke Bajpai, the chief executive officer of Ixigo, attributes the slip in this quarter to a one-off, non-recurring ESOP or Employee Stock Option Plan settlement this quarter, amounting to Rs 26.9 crore.

In a conversation with NDTV Profit on Thursday, he assures that this a non-cash, non-recurring expense. This was triggered by certain performance milestones being met "earlier than expected," according to Bajpai.

Bajpai highlighted significant supply constraints in both air and rail travel during the quarter. On the train side, regulatory changes, including shifts in the advance reservation and Tatkal window timings, and a decrease in the pool of people eligible to buy waitlist tickets, has caused a "temporary hit." This effectively lowered the inventory sold on waitlist tickets. The company has since "adapted our systems to the eco-system changes," and the situation has already started to normalise.

The domestic flight business faced similar supply issues, leading to the overall market de-growing by 2% in the second quarter. Bajpai cited external factors like a Delhi runway closure and weather-related events as major contributors to the supply constraints.

Despite this, he sees positive signs for the future, mentioning "news from Indigo, Akasa about their addition of capacity comes as key positives," along with the anticipated operational start of new airports like Navi Mumbai. The management targets a 35% to 40% growth trajectory, noting the company is currently operating "in that range now."

The company expects this aggressive growth to continue over the next one or two years, provided there is a "normalisation on flight capacity growth and more stability on the train side." Bajpai addressed recent operational challenges in both the flight and train ticketing businesses, attributing them to a series of one-off ecosystem changes and external events.

Bajpai confirmed that Ixigo is already seeing robust bookings for the "high-season of December and January on the train side," reinforcing the expectation of a return to high-growth rates.