Urban Company shares slid 6.5% to ₹146.3 on Monday, following a Q3 report that saw net loss widen to ₹182.48 crore from ₹59.33 crore a year earlier. Revenue jumped 41% year‑on‑year to ₹537.29 crore, with core services driving a 28% rise.
Core business metrics paint a different picture: earnings before tax leapt more than four‑fold, and the EBIT margin expanded to 12.9% from 3.9% last year, underscoring stronger profitability in the main segment.
InstaHelp, however, continued to drag the bottom line. Its revenue surged to ₹20.5 crore from ₹1.4 crore, yet the EBIT loss ballooned to ₹173 crore from ₹43 crore a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA for the unit hit ₹174 crore, trailing Snabbit’s ₹145 crore, and the loss per order climbed to ₹279 versus ₹225 for the competitor.
Analyst sentiment remains mixed: of the nine covering the stock, four rate it a sell, three a buy, and two hold. Kotak Institutional Equities downgraded the shares to sell, setting a ₹155 target. The market has already priced in a correction, reflecting the widening losses.
Looking ahead, investors will focus on the next earnings cycle for clues on margin recovery and InstaHelp’s turnaround. Guidance for the next quarter is expected to address cost structure and potential restructuring of the unit.