CarTrade Q1: consolidated PAT ₹56.8 Cr up 21% YoY (+27% adj), all three segments expand margins
PAT +20.59% YoY · revenue +16.26% · margins expanding · inline vs street
₹201.16 Cr
+16.26% YoY
₹56.75 Cr
+20.59% YoY
24.7%
+1pp YoY
₹10.69
CarTrade Tech reported a strong first quarter on a year-on-year basis. Consolidated revenue from operations rose to ₹201.2 Cr, up 16.3% YoY, and profit after tax (incl. minority) came in at ₹56.8 Cr, up 20.6% as reported — and roughly +27% adjusted for a ₹3.08 Cr Labour-Codes salary-restructuring charge booked as an exceptional item this quarter (the year-ago quarter had none). The sequential optics are misleading: PAT is down ~20% QoQ and revenue is flat (-1%), but Q4FY26's PAT was inflated by a ₹7.58 Cr earlier-year tax write-back, and this quarter carries the exceptional charge plus a higher effective tax rate of 23.8% (vs 17.3% a year ago). Stripping those out, PBT before exceptional item grew 36.3% YoY to ₹77.6 Cr.
Q1 FY-2027 vs prior quarters
The operating engine was broad-based. Total segment result climbed 45.5% YoY to ₹68.9 Cr, lifting the operating margin to ~34% from ~27% a year ago, with all three segments both growing revenue and expanding profitability. Classifieds (OLX) led — revenue +29.2% and segment result +66.5% YoY — consistent with the AI-monetisation push management flagged (OLX Elite Buyer crossed 80,000 sign-ups in May). Consumer grew revenue 17.7% with result up 38.3%, and Remarketing grew 13.2% with result up 37.6%. The gap between ~45% operating-profit growth and ~21% reported PAT growth is almost entirely the tax step-up and the one-off charge, not any weakness in the business.
The stock went into the print at ₹2,862, up 6.3% over the past month of trading.
Management is very optimistic about the future, expecting growth momentum to continue and margins to expand across all business segments in the coming year. The company is focused on accelerating OLX growth through new AI-driven monetization initiatives like 'Elite Buyer' and 'Verification', which are expected to becom
— This quarter: met
Against the Q4FY26 concall — where management guided for continued momentum and margin expansion across all segments — this print delivers exactly that. On the long-term ambition to lift PAT from ₹243 Cr toward ~₹1,000 Cr over four to five years, Q1 annualises to roughly ₹227 Cr, on the base. There is no published quarterly consensus, but FY27 EPS consensus sits near ₹44.5 (UBS carries a ₹4,000 target and sees 15-20% upside to Street earnings on faster OLX/auto-ads monetisation); Q1 basic EPS of ₹10.69 (vs ₹9.03 YoY) annualises to ~₹42.8, broadly on track. Alongside results, the board flagged a Spinny partnership to deepen the used-car marketplace and had launched the unified CarTrade Used Auto platform in June; on the register, MacRitchie sold a 0.64% stake ahead of the print. The results were approved unaudited on July 29 with an analyst call the same day.
W1
OLX/Classifieds monetisation ramp — Elite Buyer & Verification: Classifieds revenue ₹62.2 Cr (+29% YoY) this quarter; watch if the pace holds into Q2
W2
Effective tax rate — 23.8% this quarter (deferred-tax heavy, ₹8.84 Cr); track whether it normalises and its continued drag on PAT vs the ~36% PBT growth
W3
Spinny partnership and the new CarTrade Used Auto platform — impact on Consumer/Remarketing volumes and take-rates next quarter
Source in Lakhs, converted to Cr. Q1FY27 has a ₹3.08 Cr exceptional (Labour Codes salary-restructuring actuarial charge); year-ago had none. Consolidated PAT ₹56.75 Cr is total incl. NCI (parent ₹51.24 Cr + NCI ₹5.51 Cr) to match comparison convention; EPS is on parent profit. QoQ base (Q4FY26) was lifted by a ₹7.58 Cr earlier-year tax write-back. Effective tax rose to 23.8% from 17.3% YoY. Std/consol align directionally.