Aurum Proptech Limited ((IN:AURUM)) has held its Q2 earnings call. Read on for the main highlights of the call.
Aurum PropTech’s latest earnings call struck an upbeat tone, as management showcased strong revenue growth, margin expansion, and a fourth straight profitable quarter. Investors also welcomed the completion of the Housing.com acquisition, solid cash generation, and minimal bank debt, even as executives flagged near-term drag from pre-profit platforms, elevated tax rates, and one-off gains in the first half.
Fourth Profitable Quarter and Margin Rebound
Aurum PropTech posted its fourth consecutive profitable quarter, underlining a sharp turnaround from last year’s losses. Profit before tax margins expanded by roughly 1,200 basis points, lifting reported PBT margin to 4.8% and reinforcing management’s narrative of a structurally improving business model.
Robust Top-Line Momentum
Total income in Q2 climbed to INR 137 crore, up 56% year-on-year, powered by broad-based growth across verticals. Revenue from operations surged 64% to INR 130.2 crore, with sequential growth of 16%, while first-half revenue jumped 67% to INR 242 crore, signaling strong operating momentum.
EBITDA Expansion and Operating Leverage
Adjusted EBITDA margin widened by 840 basis points to 11.5%, reflecting operating leverage and tighter cost controls. Reported EBITDA rose to INR 41 crore with a near-30% margin, while H1 EBITDA grew to INR 78.5 crore at a 30.6% margin, up from 28.3% a year earlier.
Return to Profit from Continuing Operations
The company swung to a profit before tax of INR 6.8 crore from a loss of INR 8.9 crore in the year-ago quarter, marking a clean recovery in the ongoing businesses. Profit after tax from continuing operations reached INR 4.3 crore, translating into basic EPS of INR 0.52 versus a loss per share in the prior year.
Housing.com Deal Reshapes the Balance Sheet
Aurum completed the all-stock acquisition of Housing.com via Locon Solutions on September 29, significantly enlarging its scale. The transaction roughly doubled the balance sheet, with 1.98 crore new shares issued and about INR 458 crore added to equity, positioning Housing as the group’s flagship consumer gateway.
Housing.com’s Scale and Brand Strength
Management highlighted Housing.com’s substantial consumer reach, citing over 58 million monthly visits and 45 million monthly active users. The platform boasts a leading app-download share and ranks number one on brand awareness and preference metrics, with MAUs roughly 1.2 times its nearest rival.
Integration and Platform Synergies
The Housing.com platform is being woven into Aurum’s developer, broker, transaction, financing, and living businesses to boost lead quality and conversion. Synergies have already been mapped, and management expects some benefits to start showing in reported numbers over the next couple of quarters.
Cost Cuts and Path to Housing Profitability
Within a week of closing the deal, Aurum implemented roughly INR 120 crore of cost reductions at Housing.com without notable revenue impact. The focus now shifts to growth, with another INR 100–150 crore of revenue targeted over four to six quarters and a stated goal to move Housing into profitability within 12–18 months.
Distribution Engine Powers Growth
The distribution segment delivered INR 69.7 crore of revenue, accounting for 54% of the group and growing 25% sequentially to 2.6 times last year’s level. Segment profit climbed to INR 11.4 crore with a 16.3% margin, up notably from both the prior year and the previous quarter.
Rising Lead Volumes and Transactions
Aurum’s distribution unit sold 170,000 leads, up 79% year-on-year, supported by more than 10,500 active technology licenses. It facilitated around INR 850 crore of home sales as gross commissions soared 144%, with the Analytica and Sell.do platforms expanding across hundreds of developers and clients.
Rental Segment Turns the Corner
The rental business reported revenue of INR 56.1 crore, up 10% year-on-year, and moved from a loss of INR 4.3 crore to a profit of INR 0.9 crore. Co-living and student housing operated 16,500 beds at 82% occupancy, including a substantial cohort of buildings running above 90% occupancy.
Rental Metrics and Capacity Build-Out
Residential rentals managed 8,900 signed units and collected INR 35 crore of rent in the quarter, with AI-enabled bookings rising 7.6 times sequentially. Management said rental consolidation is largely complete, the segment is now profitable, and it plans to increase beds across HelloWorld and NestAway while targeting 88% occupancy by year-end.
Capital and Mortgage Business Scales Up
The capital segment, though still small, grew revenue to INR 4.3 crore from INR 1.2 crore a year ago and delivered INR 0.4 crore in profit. KuberX disbursed INR 200 crore of loans in September alone, implying a current run rate of INR 2,400 crore and pointing to a much larger mortgage opportunity ahead.
Healthy Cash Generation and Near-Zero Debt
Operating cash flow from continuing operations in the first half rose to INR 60.8 crore, comfortably covering capital expenditure of INR 8.8 crore and lease obligations. The company ended the quarter with INR 191.6 crore in cash and investments and less than INR 1 crore in bank and other borrowings, leaving it effectively debt-free.
Balance Sheet Strengthened by Equity Infusion
Total assets jumped to INR 1,641 crore from INR 948 crore in March, while shareholders’ equity nearly doubled to INR 1,020 crore, primarily due to the Housing.com consolidation. The promoter further committed capital through convertible warrants, paying 25% upfront, with the balance due upon exercise within 18 months.
AI Investments Aim at Productivity Gains
Management reported that business value generated per team member has already risen from about INR 40 lakh to over INR 50 lakh, with a year-end target of INR 56 lakh. The company is investing in AI to stitch together a unified journey from property discovery through financing and living, though benefits are still in early stages.
Expanding Market Coverage
Aurum currently partners with roughly 18,000–19,000 channel partners and more than 1,300 developers, but sees headroom to more than double both. Housing.com’s sizeable base of monthly active users and tens of millions of app downloads further broadens the funnel for the group’s transaction and rental offerings.
Leveraging Rentals and Education Payments
Management is exploring the relaunch of Housing.com’s rental and education payments services in combination with NestAway’s existing operations. With NestAway already processing about INR 35 crore of rentals each quarter, the company sees a clear opportunity to layer payments and ancillary services onto this flow.
Tax Assets and Carry-Forward Losses
The acquisition of Housing.com brings with it INR 1,020 crore of carry-forward losses that could provide meaningful tax shields over time. Aurum is seeking expert opinions on how best to utilize these losses across the group structure to optimize its overall tax position.
Pre-Profit Status and Deep Cost Cuts at Housing
Management reiterated that Housing.com remains pre-profit despite the substantial cost reset and that the heavier lifting ahead will be on the revenue side. The recent INR 120 crore cost reduction was described as a deep, one-time exercise, with further margin gains expected to flow primarily from scale and monetization.
Rationalization in Rental Units and Beds
NestAway has seen a planned reduction in units as the company consolidated properties across pin codes to sharpen unit-level profitability. HelloWorld also shed non-profitable buildings in the first quarter, creating a cleaner base from which to ramp up occupancy and yields.
Rising Other Expenses and Tax Rate
Other expenses rose to INR 62.2 crore or 47.8% of revenue, up from 45% in Q1, largely because the fast-growing distribution business carries higher variable costs. The effective tax rate was around 37%, as profitable entities currently pay tax while losses in some subsidiaries are not yet recognized as deferred tax assets.
One-Off Gain Skews H1 Profit
Headline H1 net profit of INR 49.5 crore included INR 45.5 crore from discontinued operations tied to the sale of a Navi Mumbai building. Excluding this one-time gain, profit after tax from continuing operations was INR 3.9 crore, a marked improvement on the INR 17.9 crore loss recorded in the first half of the prior year.
Early-Stage Capital Segment and Working-Capital Mix
Despite high growth rates, the capital segment still contributed only a fraction of group revenue compared with distribution and rentals. Current liabilities slightly exceeded current assets, but management noted that a sizable portion reflects lease liabilities, which are backed by corresponding right-of-use assets on the balance sheet.
Management Focused on Integration Over Deals
With the Housing.com acquisition now closed, management stressed that its immediate priority is integration and moving the platform to profitability. As a result, Aurum does not plan to actively chase new acquisitions in the near term, though it remains open to compelling strategic opportunities if they arise.
Forward-Looking Guidance and Growth Ambitions
Looking ahead, management aims to make Housing.com profitable in 12–18 months, with internal break-even targeted within four to six quarters and revenue scaling by INR 100–150 crore over that period. The company expects revenue per team member to rise steadily for the next several quarters, aims to lift rental occupancy to about 88%, sharply ramp up KuberX home-loan disbursements, and expand its network of channel partners and developers as integration synergies start to show.
Aurum PropTech’s earnings call painted a picture of a platform at an inflection point, balancing disciplined execution with aggressive scaling. While integration risk, tax complexity, and pre-profit assets remain watch points, the combination of strong growth, improving profitability, and a fortified balance sheet keeps investor sentiment firmly constructive around the stock’s medium-term trajectory.