EaseMyTrip is gaining market share versus its competitors, Prashant Pitti, co-founder and director, told CNBC-TV18. Pitti also assessed the impact that COVID and the subsequent lockdowns had on the business as India finally starts to recover and unlock.

The online travel company reported strong earnings for the September-ended quarter albeit on a very low base. The online travel firm, on Tuesday, reported an over four-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 27.12 crore for the quarter ended September. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 6.16 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, EaseMyTrip said in a regulatory filing. Consolidated total income stood at Rs 59.78 crore for the quarter under consideration. It was Rs 22.29 crore for the same period a year ago.

“We are gaining market share because of which our bookings have grown tremendously. Also, there is pent-up demand, bounce back, revenge travel and we believe that the second half of the year, for the entire tourism industry, would be much better than the first half (of the year) because the first half was encapsulated by the second wave of COVID,” Pitti said.

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On margins, he said, “The discounts were around 2 percent for this particular half of the year and now it is around 4.9 percent and that’s primarily because we are getting some cashbacks from the airlines, hotels, which we are passing to the consumers and that is also an industry practice.”

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“We believe that the discounting will ease off in the second half and because of which the margins could even look better,” said Pitti.

(With inputs from PTI)

For the entire management interview, watch the video

(Edited by : Dipikka Ghosh)