ixigo-parent Le Travenues Technology lists at 48% premium over issue price

Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of ixigo, made a stellar stock market debut on Tuesday with its shares getting listed at Rs 138.10, a 48 per cent premium over its issue price of Rs 93 per share on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The stock of the tour and travel related company later moved higher to Rs 147.65, a 59 per cent over its issue price.

On the BSE, the shares of Le Travenues Technology listed at Rs 135, a 45 per cent premium against its issue price of Rs 93 per share. The stock hit an intra-day high of Rs 147.76, surging 59 per cent over its issue price.

At 10:12 AM, Le Travenues Technology was trading at Rs 143.74, 55 per cent higher than the issue price on the NSE. A combined 51.89 million equity shares have already changed hands on the NSE and BSE.

According to analysts, Le Travenues Technology Ltd., the company behind popular travel platforms Ixigo and AbhiBus, defied pre-listing expectations, where the grey market premium (GMP) suggested a 30-per cent listing gain, as it made a stellar debut on the stock market.

"Le Travenues' strong listing is a positive sign, showcasing investor belief in its long-term growth prospects within the online travel sector. Investors are advised to hold their position with a stop loss of Rs 111," said Shivani Nyati, head of wealth, Swastika Investmart.

Le Travenues Technology is an online travel agency (OTA) that enables travelers to book train, flight, and bus tickets as well as hotels via its OTA platforms under the brand name 'ixigo'.

The company's list of services includes PNR status and confirmation predictions, train seat availability alerts, train running status updates and delay predictions, alternative route or transportation planning, flight status updates, automated web check-in, bus running status, price and availability alerts, deal discovery, destination content, personalised recommendations, instant fare alerts for flights, AI-based travel planning service, and automated customer support.

The IPO got a huge response from investors with the issue getting subscribed 98.10 times. The public issue was subscribed 53.95 times in the retail category, 106.73 times in the qualified institutional buyers (QIB) category, and 110.25 times in the non-institutional investors (NII) category.

Ixigo is the leading OTA for the 'next billion users’ with the highest Monthly Active Users for mobile apps across all key OTAs as of September 2023. The company recorded a strong Revenue CAGR of 350 per cent between FY20-FY23 and Revenue per employee for FY23 stood at 9.2 million.
"Considering the financial performance, the company’s Revenue/Ebitda/PAT grew at a CAGR of 92.3 per cent/194.9 per cent/76.2 per cent during the FY2021-23 period. On the upper price band, the issue is valued at a P/E of 163.2x based on FY2023 earnings.

Though the valuations are rich, we believe that the nature of the platform business (high pass-through of revenues) and large industry opportunity size would be the key factors to drive sustained and high earnings growth in future,” analysts at BP Equities had said in their IPO note.

Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of popular online travel agencies ixigo and AbhiBus, operates in the rapidly growing Indian online travel market. Its established brand presence, AI-powered operations, and diversified business model position the company for continued growth, said Swastika Investmart.

While Le Travenues has demonstrated strong post-pandemic recovery with impressive top-line and bottom-line growth, some key risks require careful consideration. The company faces high customer acquisition costs and operates in a highly competitive industry. Additionally, its dependence on a broad range of travel suppliers introduces potential risks, the brokerage firm said in IPO note.

The IPO valuation of 160.34x P/E appears relatively high. Despite this, considering the long-term growth potential of the online travel sector and the company's established brands, the brokerage had recommended an "Apply" rating for long-term investors.