Visa services firm BLS says its profit after tax grew by a huge 90.2 pc in quarter ending December 31, 2023 and revenue of INR 12.29 billion in the first nine months of FY2024. Company says that improved business mix is the prime reason behind its robust rise in profitability.

BLS International Services, a global tech-enabled services partner offering visa and other consular services for governments and citizens, has announced a near-doubling of profits after tax in the third quarter of the current fiscal year to INR 871.8 million, a growth of 90.2 pc over PAT in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.

In a press statement, BLS says that as per its unaudited consolidated financial results for the quarter and nine-month period ended December 31, 2023, the company has registered a significant all-round rise in all other performance benchmarks. The company says that for the quarter ending on December 31, 2023, the company’s consolidated revenue stood at INR 4.38 billion, while its operating Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) witnessed a growth of 33.6 pc to INR 886 million.

BLS adds its operating EBITDA margins continue to be in excess of 20 pc primarily driven by an improved business mix, specifically in the Visa & Consular services segment. The company says that the management is focused on improving profitability and cash generation as key business performance metrics and the company continues to be a debt-free company with healthy cash on books. It says that given the asset-light nature of the business, the company continues to generate significant returns for its shareholders. In addition, the company continues to maintain health balance sheet with cash and cash equivalents of INR 7.54 billion as on December 31, 2023.

The statement adds that BLS continues to be one of the largest visa & consular services companies. Amongst several others, the company processes visa applications mainly for Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Thailand, Hungary, Morocco, India, Vietnam, Malaysia and Slovakia. It adds that it endeavours to bid for several contracts & tenders for visa services across the world and expects continuous growth through these new contracts.

Analysing its performance, the company attributes it to numerous factors including opening up of key geographies for travel and tourism, winning new contracts as well as tenders which are in the pipeline as well as increasing demand for value-added services and inorganic opportunities in both visa & consular and digital services segments.

BLS says that in the first nine months of the current fiscal or in the period from April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, its operational revenue stood at INR 12.29 billion, a growth of 15.13 pc from the corresponding period in the previous year. It says its EBITDA in the period stood at INR 2.55 billion, up 65.33 pc from EBITDA in the same period of the previous year.

The statement adds that the company had recently announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire a 100 pc stake in iDATA, a Turkey-based visa-processing player and that BLS E-Services, one of the key subsidiaries of BLS International, witnessed listing on NSE and BSE through a successful IPO, raising INR 3.10 billion for various organic and inorganic growth opportunities.

“We are glad to share that the company has performed in line with expectations, continuing its growth trajectory in the third quarter. Our EBITDA and PAT witnessed strong growth of 33.6 pc and 90.2 pc year-on-year, respectively. Favourable business mix resulted in the expansion of EBITDA margins, which continued to be above the 20 pc mark this quarter as well. As key markets are opening up, we expect a further increase in the number of visa applications,’’ says Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, BLS International Services.

‘‘This quarter has been quite exciting in terms of key business developments. We recently announced the signing of definitive agreements for the acquisition of a 100 pc stake in iData, a Turkey-based visa outsourcing services provider. This would strengthen our visa business and bring more geographies under our portfolio. Furthermore, I am proud to say that we have successfully completed the IPO of our subsidiary BLS E-Services. This comprises our e-governance, business correspondent, and e-assisted services businesses. The proceeds raised would be utilised to expand this business, which we believe has immense potential for growth,’’ adds Aggarwal.

“Overall, we aim to continue focusing on spreading our reach wider with prudent emphasis on organic as well as inorganic growth while striving to generate sustainable value for all stakeholders,” he says.