The Info Edge recruitment vertical showed billings were up 17.5 per cent Y-o-Y in Q1FY27, with better enterprise renewals and stable hiring. Growth was broad-based, with tech/IT/business process management, or BPM, up 15 per cent, global capability centres, or GCCs, up 31 per cent, boosted by a base effect, other sectors gaining 12 per cent, whereas recruitment consultants were flat at 1 per cent. One-third of the growth came from volume, one-third from pricing, and one-third from newer options like AI Recruiter (AR), Talent Pulse (AI tool) and employer branding. Naukri Gulf grew 12 per cent, below its average 20 per cent trend, due to geopolitical conflict.
The profit before tax, or PBT, margin in recruitment rose 580 basis points Y-o-Y to 58.3 per cent in Q1. Its PBT margin for FY26 was 57 per cent and was higher by 100 basis points Y-o-Y.
Premium hiring and newer monetisation initiatives are supporting growth, but the mid-market and IT hiring environment remains soft. Consultant billings remained largely flat. A broad-based recovery in the hiring environment is still not visible.
Premium CV views are growing at over 25 per cent, while AR has already seen around 700 customers pay for the product across June and July. While early traction is encouraging, one renewal cycle is needed to assess retention and the extent of incremental monetisation.
In real estate, competitive intensity eased, and 99acres reported 16.5 per cent Y-o-Y growth in billings in Q1. Management said this was the result of two years of investments to convert competitive strength into market leadership. The business is close to breakeven, with strong growth in traffic, listings up 23-30 per cent across broker, project and owner categories, and enquiries up 38 per cent.
Management attributed growth to disciplined marketing spend alongside growth and easing competitive intensity. 99acres is guided to turn cash-generative during FY27, with a medium-term target of 30 per cent margins, contingent on sustaining billings growth above 20 per cent.
Matrimony continues to grow and education is pivoting towards the AI model. Jeevansathi (matrimony) had 14.2 per cent Y-o-Y growth in billings, while Shiksha (education vertical) had a 22.8 per cent Y-o-Y decline due to search being impacted by AI. The business is actively pivoting its model to reduce dependence on search.
Margins improved, but further expansion will be linked to growth. Standalone operating profit grew 33 per cent Y-o-Y, with the margin benefiting from lower advertising spends and employee costs, alongside operating leverage from stronger revenue growth.
Recruitment margins improved to 58 per cent, while 99acres moved close to breakeven. Competitive intensity in online real estate has eased following the acquisition of Housing.com, which reduces the need for aggressive spending on customer acquisition and may accelerate 99acres’ path to profitability. Overall operating profit margin could sustain at above 42 per cent for FY27 since the margin is supported by lower costs and better operating leverage.
Management does not view AI as a disintermediation risk for recruitment, real estate or matchmaking, citing proprietary data and two decades of domain knowledge. But Shiksha is viewed as structurally more exposed given its dependence on third-party traffic.
Adjusting for renewal timing and base effects, underlying billings growth is estimated at 15 per cent, a sequential improvement versus recent quarters. Management sees the long-term opportunity in the Middle East as intact, and Gulf margins have scaled from breakeven to over 35 per cent. Jobhai (value-hiring platform) doubled revenue Y-o-Y, scaling from Delhi to a target of 18 cities, with FY27 revenue targeted to more than double from Rs 15 crore. The annual cash burn of Rs 50 crore is expected to plateau or moderate as scale builds. The platform data moat remains a key differentiator, with 118 million resumes, over 25,000 new profiles added daily, and 850,000 daily profile modifications. A downside risk is a further slowdown in recruitment, which looks unlikely with growth broadening across IT/BPM, GCCs and non-IT sectors.
The company continues to hold a diversified AI/deep-tech/consumer-tech investment portfolio spanning over 135 companies with invested capital of Rs 5,000 crore (via the balance sheet and alternative investment funds, or AIFs); several portfolio companies have listed publicly, and others have raised follow-on funding.
Analysts are raising estimates by 2-4 per cent for FY27 and FY28, reflecting better execution across recruitment and 99acres. While premiumisation and newer initiatives are supporting Naukri, the hiring environment still remains uneven. The current valuations reflect most of the improvement.
