IndiaMART InterMESH Limited (INDIAMART) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Dear shareholders, I welcome all the members to this 21st Annual General Meeting of the company. This meeting is being held through VC or OAVM on the platform provided by NSDL in compliance with the circular issued by MC and SEBI in this regard. Before starting the proceedings of the meeting, I would like to inform the members about the modalities for participation or process to be followed while attending this meeting. The facility of participation at the AGM through VC or OAVM have been made available to the members on a first come, first served basis. Members participating in the meeting can pose questions or feedback through question box option during the meeting. The questions we receive may be taken up towards the end of the meeting. As this meeting is held through VC/OAVM, the provisions relating to appointment of proxy is not applicable. Requisite arrangements have been made through e-voting services provided by NSDL to enable its members to exercise their right to vote on Chairman election and resolutions set forth in the AGM notice. Mr. Shreyansh Pratap Jain, practicing Company Secretary, Membership No. F8621 and C.P. No. 9515 has been appointed as the scrutinizer for the e-voting during the AGM and remote e-voting process. The results of the e-voting on the resolutions set forth in the AGM notice, along with the report of scrutinizer, shall be made available on the website of the company under the heading of Investor Relations and also on the website of NSDL and the stock exchanges, that is, NSE and BSE. We have with us Mr. Dinesh Chandra Agarwal, Managing Director and CEO; Mr. Brijesh Kumar Agrawal, full-time Director; Mr. Vivek Narayan Gour, Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee and Stakeholders Relationship Committee; Ms. Elizabeth Lucy Chapman, Independent Director and Chairperson of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee; Mr. Dhruv Prakash, Non-Executive Director; Mr. Rajesh Sawhney, Independent Director; and Mr. Prateek Chandra, CFO of the company, present through videoconferencing. Apart from the above, we have Ms. Kanika Kohli, representative of BSR & Co. LLP statutory auditors; and Mr. Devesh Vasisht, representative of Sanjay Grover & Associates secretarial auditors, are also present through videoconferencing. As there is no designated Chairperson or the Chairman of the Board, the members present are required to elect Chairman of the AGM from amongst the nominated directors through e-voting in compliance with the requirement of circular issued by MC. Mr. Vivek Narayan Gour and Mr. Dhruv Prakash are being nominated by the other directors present for being elected as the Chairman of the meeting. The instructions of our election of Chairman through e-voting are shared on the screen. Members are requested to follow these instructions and cast their vote. The window for voting on election of Chairman is now open and would be closed at 4:15 p.m. You may now cast your votes for the same. The statutory registers and records, as required to be placed at the AGM, have been made available and kept open during the continuance of this meeting for inspection of the members electronically. Any members who want to inspect the same can send their request through the e-mail ID, as mentioned in the AGM notice. The company is in receipt of 2 corporate representations along with Board resolution authorizing the persons concerned to attend and vote at the meeting on behalf of their respective entities, representing [ 2 lakh 52,214 ] equity shares, constituting 0.87% of paid-up equity share of capital of the company as on cutoff date, that is, August 24, 2020. Now the meeting is adjourned for enabling the members to cast their vote for the election of Chairman of this meeting and shall be resumed at 4:20 p.m. [Voting]

Dear shareholders, I once again extend a warm welcome to all the members of this meeting -- to the meeting. As for the poll results, Mr. Vivek Narayan Gour has been elected as the Chairman of this meeting. Now I request Chairman to preside over the Chair and carry out the proceedings of this meeting.

Thank you, Manoj. Ladies and gentlemen, I have immense pleasure in welcoming you all to the 21st AGM of the company. The requisite to quorum being present, I now call the meeting to order. First, I extend my heartful gratitude to all the members for being a part of the company's exciting and eventful journey, more particularly during the first year post listing. The financial year 2019-20 has been an eventful year for the company with the successful IPO listing. I am pleased to inform you that during the year 2019-20, your company achieved consolidated revenue from operations of INR 6,389 million as compared to INR 5,074 million last year, resulting in a growth of 26%. EBITDA for this year stood at INR 1,689 million and profit after-tax of INR 1,418 million, thereby representing a margin of 26% and 20%, respectively. Further, the Board had declared an interim dividend of 100% on a face value of INR 10 per share during the year under review. At IndiaMART, we believe in creating a transformational ecosystem and facilitating the seamless shift of businesses from off-line to online. The new business ethos of IndiaMART that captures the essence of our transformational ability, Bada Aasaan Hai. It endorses our strategy of facilitating the digitization of businesses, particularly the small and medium enterprises to help them grow their businesses online. Our recently launched lead management system has enabled the buyers and the sellers to talk to each other, thus giving them the power to manage their communication seamlessly. During the year, we have invested in Vyapar, a mobile-based accounting software. This tech-enabled and cost-effective solution simplifies complex billing and accounting for small and medium enterprises with a mobile-first approach, empowering them with a hands-on tool to stay on top of their business operations. In addition to enabling SMEs and micro SMEs to scale up their businesses and contribute exponentially to the nation's economic progress, we remain focused on serving the bigger community through our CSR initiative as a responsible corporate. At last, I would like to say that our business is currently impacted by the disruptions caused due to COVID. However, as the ongoing pandemic is accelerating adoption of Internet and the behavioral shift on the part of the businesses to move online, we are optimistic of seeing long-term benefits for our business despite challenges in the short term. I take this opportunity to thank you all for playing a vital role in building this organization and being our pillar of support and strength and wish for the well-being of all stakeholders of the company. I will now take up the formal part of the agenda of this Annual General Meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, Notice of the AGM, along with the audited financial statements of the company and the reports of the Board of Directors and auditors thereon, including annexures thereof, for the financial year ended March 31, 2020, has already been circulated to members through e-mail, and the same is also available on the company's website. I now take Notice of the AGM and the reports of the Board of Directors as read. As the auditors have not made any qualifications, observations or comments in their audit report for the financial year ended March 31, 2020, I now take it as read. All members of the company present at the Annual General Meeting who were eligible and could not exercise their right to vote during the remote e-voting period can exercise their vote now to the e-voting platform of NSDL by logging on to https://www.evoting.nsdl.com/. The window for e-voting is open now, and the same would close at 4:45 p.m. today. Members need to follow the instructions mentioned in the Notice of the Meeting. And in case of any difficulties, you may connect on the help lines given -- helpline numbers given therein. The following resolutions are proposed to be passed in this meeting: first, adoption of the audited stand-alone and consolidated financial statements of the company, together with the reports of the Board of Directors and auditors thereon for the year ended March 31, 2020; second, transformation of the payment of interim dividend of INR 10 per equity share already paid during the year as the final dividend for the financial year 2019-2020; third, appointment of the director in place of Mr. Brijesh Kumar Agrawal who retires by rotation and, being eligible, offers himself for reappointment; fourth, reappointment of Mr. Rajesh Sawhney as an Independent Director for a second term of 5 years; fifth, reappointment of Ms. Elizabeth Lucy Chapman as an Independent Director for a second term of 5 years; sixth, alteration of Articles of Association of the company. It is now time to take questions from the members. As there are a lot of questions being received, we would try and answer a few of them that we can, and we would collate any unanswered questions and respond to them individually within 7 days of this meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, there being no other business to transact other than the Q&A. I hereby conclude the AGM of the company, and thank you all for your participation and your dignified presence. We'll now look at the questions that are coming up.

The first question from one of the shareholders is: as per audited balance sheet, the company has a cash balance of INR 9,307 million. What is the intended use of this cash? I would request the Managing Director and Founder, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal to answer this question. Mr. Dinesh Agarwal?

Thank you, Vivek. We have a cash balance of INR 930 crores as on 31st March. We also have a deferred revenue liability of INR 685 crores. That is the money collected in advance from customers for the services due over the period of time. So part of this cash balance needs to be maintained as a reserve for our company and remaining to be utilized in the following situations: number one and two being organic and inorganic expansion opportunities in the areas of B2B, Software as a Service and financial technology such as accounting and payments. As part of this strategy, we have made investments in Vyapar and in Mobisy Technologies recently. We will continue to make such investments in the spaces that are more adjacent to us that will add to the ecosystem and create a larger ecosystem for IndiaMART small, medium and large businesses together. And third, we will continue to invest in payments of dividend for the cash utilization. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Dinesh. The second question that I can see on my screen is this: as there has been a substantial increase in share price recently, will the company give bonus shares? I'll direct this question to Co-Founder Brijesh Agrawal and request for his answer.

Thank you, Vivek. So I think one important element here is that there are currently no plans for us to issue bonus shares. Secondly, as a company, we always have to keep in view what's the best possible capital structure. And that decision has to be taken irrespective of the price movements that we see in the stock market. We will continue to evaluate and look at what is the best capital structure that will help in the growth of the business. And we will continue to take decision based on that in times to come. Whenever a decision about bonus shares is taken, we will surely come back and let everyone know about it.

Thank you, Brijesh. The third question I see on my screen is: what is the impact of COVID on the company's business? I'll request the Founder and Managing Director, Dinesh Agarwal, to address this question.

As I've already stated in our annual report also that the company is facing short-term challenges and that are visible in the economy in general and reflected in our quarterly results of the first quarter also. However, we do believe that the pandemic presents certain long-term opportunities as well apart from the challenges that are there. One, there has been a step function jump in the adoption of the Internet. There has been increased adoption of the Internet and shift in the businesses to move online, which makes IndiaMART's value proposition stronger in times to come as more and more people join online businesses as well as more and more buyers rely on the online business. Thank you very much.

I'd like a confirmation from the Company Secretary and Legal Counsel, Mr. Manoj Bhargava, if there are any other points to be covered.

No, sir. Everything is done, sir. There are no further unique questions which have been received.

Ladies and gentlemen, there being no other business to transact, I hereby conclude the AGM of the company and thank all of you for your participation and dignified presence. Thank you.