ixigo swings to Rs 63-crore profit in Q2 FY27, hotels emerge as next growth engine

Travel technology platform ixigo reported a profit of Rs 63 crore in the second quarter of FY27, compared with a loss of Rs 3.4 crore in the year-ago period, as its flights and bus businesses recorded strong growth and its hotel segment emerged as a new growth driver. The company's profit was partly aided by a stake sale in bus operator FreshBus, according to group CEO Aloke Bajpai. Revenue from operations rose 13% year-on-year to Rs 320.96 crore in Q2 FY27, while gross transaction value (GTV) grew 22% to Rs 5,304.47 crore. Contribution margin increased 14% to Rs 124.86 crore. Hotels emerged as one of ixigo's fastest-growing businesses, with GTV rising 2.6 times year-on-year to Rs 111.34 crore in the quarter, including Brevistay. Revenue from the segment grew more than sixfold to Rs 8.1 crore. The company said it crossed 5,000 hotel room nights per day, with daily volumes growing 3.9 times year-on-year. It recorded approximately 4.7 lakh room nights during the quarter, positioning the business among the fastest-growing hotel online travel agencies in India. This is the first quarter in which ixigo has disclosed hotels as a separate business segment. The company reported 159% year-on-year growth in hotel GTV and 528% growth in revenue, with a gross take rate of more than 12%. More than 86% of hotel bookings came from its existing captive user base. Ixigo's hotel inventory includes more than 70,000 properties across India, of which over 12,000 are directly contracted properties spread across 1,100 towns. The hotel business is emerging as a key growth avenue for ixigo as it looks to diversify beyond its core train, flight and bus booking platforms. The company said it would continue investing in hotels and artificial intelligence to drive long-term growth. Flights and buses drive growth Flights and buses led ixigo's performance during the quarter, with GTV growing 37% and 32% year-on-year, respectively. The company expanded its distribution by powering train bookings on Uber, adding to its existing bus booking integration. Its food delivery services through Zoop and Swiggy now cover more than 290 railway stations. Higher airfares and limited availability of confirmed train tickets continued to support demand for intercity bus travel, the company said, alongside investments in customer experience and supply expansion. Its bus platform AbhiBus also launched Women Zone, a booking option designed for solo women travellers. Commenting on the results, Bajpai said the company delivered resilient growth, with quarterly GTV of Rs 5,304 crore and revenue from operations of Rs 321 crore. "Our PAT was an all-time high aided by our partial sale of stake in FreshBus. Flight and Bus led the quarter with GTV growth of 37% and 32% year-on-year, respectively," he said. "From this quarter onwards, we are disclosing a new line of business of Hotels, which grew GTV 2.6 times year-on-year to Rs 111 crore, with a gross take rate of more than 12%. We continue to invest in Hotels and AI as key drivers of our long-term growth," Bajpai added.