Urban Company reported a consolidated net loss of ₹182.48 crore for Q2 FY27, widening from ₹59.33 crore a year earlier and ₹92.12 crore in the June quarter, as investments in its quick services business, InstaHelp, weighed on profitability. However, revenue from operations rose 41.4% year-on-year to ₹537.29 crore in the second quarter of FY27, beating Bloomberg's consensus estimate of ₹517.1 crore. The company's Net Transaction Value (NTV) increased 39% to ₹1,432 crore, while orders delivered more than doubled to 15.1 million and annual transacting users grew 34.5% to nearly 10 million. According to Business Standard, CEO Abhiraj Bhal noted that "Q2 FY27 was a strong quarter. The company's core business combined continued growth momentum with margin expansion, while it invested aggressively in InstaHelp, where unit economics improved even as the business scaled rapidly."
The segment breakdown reveals stark differences in profitability across Urban Company's business verticals. India consumer services, excluding InstaHelp, generated ₹336.38 crore in revenue with a segment profit of ₹43.39 crore, compared with ₹10.13 crore a year earlier, demonstrating strong operational efficiency. The international business revenue rose 82.1% to ₹75 crore from ₹41.19 crore, while its segment profit improved to ₹5.74 crore. However, Native, the company's home-products business, reported revenue of ₹105.37 crore but a segment loss of ₹7.95 crore, indicating challenges in scaling this newer category. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), excluding InstaHelp, reached ₹30 crore, up 213% year-on-year, with core businesses generating ₹119 crore in adjusted EBITDA over the past three quarters, up 175%. The India consumer services' adjusted EBITDA margin rose 110 basis points to 3.5% of NTV, while the international business's margin increased 190 basis points to 2%.
InstaHelp order volumes rose 63% sequentially to 6.23 million in Q2 FY27, with net transaction value (NTV) falling to ₹114 crore from ₹138 in the June quarter. The adjusted EBITDA loss widened to ₹173.12 crore, taking consolidated adjusted EBITDA to a loss of ₹144 crore, though the loss per order improved to ₹279 from ₹346 in Q1 FY27. According to Business Standard, the InstaHelp segment reported segment revenue of ₹20.54 crore in Q2 FY27 from ₹1.43 crore in Q2 FY26. The company's steady-state model envisages pricing of about ₹200 an hour and an average 1.5-hour booking generating ₹300 in NTV, with current prices remaining low. About 45% of new users in markets where InstaHelp operates alongside core services now come through the offering, with customers including households needing replacement or additional help and younger consumers who book cleaning periodically.
Urban Company has received in-principle board approval to raise up to ₹2,500 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP), subject to shareholder approval. The company ended September with ₹1,901 crore in cash and treasury investments and plans to use the capital for strategic flexibility over the next five to 10 years rather than meeting immediate needs. As per Business Standard, the company stated that "the proposed raise of up to ₹2,500 crore is about flexibility: it lets us invest with conviction across each of them, cement leadership in InstaHelp, and pursue inorganic opportunities selectively, without trading off one for another." The board also gave in-principle approval to explore residential air conditioners as a new line of business under the 'Native' brand, with the company already servicing millions of air conditioners annually.
Urban Company retained its target of consolidated adjusted EBITDA breakeven by Q3 FY28 and adjusted EBITDA of ₹1,000 crore by FY31. The company is exploring residential air conditioners under Native, with Business Standard reporting that the company already services millions of air conditioners every year, giving it first-hand insight into product gaps and customer needs. Urban Company is also testing InstaHelp Gold, a premium offering, with initial results being promising but not disclosed. The focus remains on recruiting, training and retaining professionals, improving their earnings and maintaining service quality, with supply-demand balance having improved though demand still exceeds supply in some local markets.
