"PROFITABILITY AND GROWTH NEED TO GO HAND IN HAND GROWTH WITHOUT PROFITABILITY IS RATHER MEANINGLESS"

In an exclusive conversation with BW Businessworld, ROBIN RAINA, Chairman, EbixCash, shares his mantra for consistent growth and profitability and how through his company’s Rs 6,000 Crore IPO, he wants to create value for all

- ARJUN YADAV

The IPO fillings in FY23 halved as compared to FY22, given the prevailing macroeconomic conditions last year. Now that EbixCash has got the nod for its IPO, how do you see the market sentiment at present which makes it the right time for EbixCash to hit the primary market?

As a prudent company, we focus on our fundamentals rather than just market sentiment. Our fundamentals are strong; if the markets perform well, that is icing on the cake. But even if the market would not have been performing well, we would still like to believe in our fundamentals. When times are tough, people look for good stories — companies that are growing consistently, while being consistently profitable. And with EbixCash, I believe that we have that story.

What are the key areas where the proceeds from this IPO would be utilised? Which are the business segments that you wish to expand aggressively? 

It’s going to be a 100 per cent primary issue with proceeds earmarked for three things — Rs 1,200 crore for working capital requirements to fund our growing businesses, purchase of convertible debt instrument for approximately Rs 2,800 crore to retire convertible debt from the parent company, and the remaining proceeds will be utilised for organic and inorganic growth initiatives of the company. The company essentially has no other external debt.

In FY23 EbixCash reported a 46 per cent YoY increase in its revenue from operations, and a 55 per cent YoY rise in its net profit. How do you describe this growth? What is the ‘Robin Raina mantra’ of profitability that others have failed to crack?