BLS International Services Profit Surges 90% in Q3

Mumbai, Feb 12 (PTI) Visa service provider BLS International Services on Monday reported a 90 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 87.18 crore for the quarter ending December 2023, primarily driven by an improved business mix.

The New Delhi-headquartered company had posted a profit of Rs 45.85 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's consolidated revenue stood at Rs 437.9 crore for the December quarter in FY24 and operating EBITDA witnessed a growth of 33.6 per cent to Rs 88.6 crore, according to a regulatory filing.

"The company's operating EBITDA margins continue to be in excess of 20 per cent; primarily driven by an improved business mix, specifically in the visa and consular services segment," BLS said.

BLS shares ended at Rs 363.70 apiece on the BSE, down by 5.51 per cent over Friday close.

The company continued to maintain healthy balance sheet with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 754 crore as of December 31, 2023.

For the nine months ended December of 2023, operational revenue of BLS stood at Rs 1,229.11 crore, with a growth of 15.13 per cent from Rs 1,067.56 crore in the corresponding period of last year.

"Our EBITDA and PAT witnessed strong growth of 33.6 per cent and 90.2 per cent year-on-year, respectively...As key markets are opening up, we expect a further increase in the number of visa applications," said Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, BLS International Services Limited.

BLS works with over 46 client governments, including diplomatic missions, embassies and consulates, and leverages technology and processes that ensure data security.

The company has an extensive network of more than 50,000 centres globally, with over 60,000 employees and associates.

BLS said it has processed over 220 million applications to date globally.