Zomato Layoffs Erase $360 Million From India’s Info Edge
Info Edge shares have fallen 10% since Sept. 9 as investors saw the layoffs as a sign the slowdown in consumption is spreading.
(Bloomberg) -- Info Edge India Ltd. saw its market value erode by about 26 billion rupees ($360 million) after a news report said a food-delivery unicorn the job-posting website is invested in fired more than 500 employees.
Zomato Media Pvt., in which Info Edge holds a 26.38% stake, laid off 541 people Sept. 7, the Business Standard newspaper reported Sunday. Info Edge shares, which rose 1% Sept. 9, have since fallen 10% as investors saw the layoffs as a sign the slowdown in consumption is spreading.
“This adds to the growing noise about a slowdown affecting revenue of consumer companies,” said Purvesh Shelatkar, head of institutional brokering at Monarch Networth Capital Ltd. in Mumbai. “News about layoffs is an overhang on the stock now.”
Unlisted Zomato clocked a revenue of 13.1 billion rupees in the year ended March 2019, a near threefold jump from a year ago, according to the recent annual report of Info Edge. The company posted a loss of 10 billion rupees, up about 10-fold from 2018.
In comparison, Info Edge’s revenue increased 20% to about 11 billion rupees while its net income climbed 53% to 2.8 billion rupees.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ameya Karve in Mumbai at akarve@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lianting Tu at ltu4@bloomberg.net, Ravil Shirodkar
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.