Urban Company books a loss in first post-IPO results on Insta Help push

Urban Company Ltd posted a loss in its quarterly post-IPO results as increased investments in new high-frequency vertical Insta Help underlined a strategic shift from short-term profitability to long-term growth in India’s home services market.

Net loss of Gurugram-based company ₹59.3 crore in September quarter ₹1.8 crore a year ago.

However, the revenue from the operations of the quick assistance services platform increased by 37% on an annual basis. ₹380 crore, led by strong interest in beauty, cleaning and home care categories.

Co-founder and CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal said the quarter marks the beginning of an investment cycle focused on scaling new categories. “We consciously choose to invest in high-frequency categories that drive deeper customer engagement,” Bhal said during an analyst call.

“Insta Help has reached nearly 470,000 monthly orders in just eight months, a milestone our India consumer business has achieved in four and a half years,” he added.

He said the company’s profitability would remain under pressure in the short term, but the investments were necessary to build a long-term compounding business. “Controlling the end-to-end experience for customers and empowering service professionals through better training, technology and earnings is the only sustainable growth model,” he said.

“It may not provide quick returns, but it provides confidence and long-term growth.”

Second quarter performance

Urban Company’s total value of customer orders, or net transaction value (NTV), increased 34% year over year ₹1,030 crore (Native) due to strong growth in India business, international markets and home products vertical.

It has four main business segments: India consumer services, Insta Help, Local (products) and international operations.

However, adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) loss ₹ ₹35 crore ₹21 crore profit in the previous quarter.

“The dilution of short-term margin is intentional,” Bhal said. “Every rupee we spend today is about increasing platform engagement and creating long-term habit formation among customers.”

He added that although the platform is not yet generating free cash flow, its strategy is focused on creating long-term value for its shareholders. “Our goal is to maximize long-term free cash flow per share and deliver lasting value to shareholders.”

The Indian consumer services segment, which includes beauty, grooming, cleaning and appliance repair services, accounted for nearly 69% of second-quarter revenue. ₹262 crore. The core segment continued to show healthy growth, with higher repeat rates and improved partner utilization.

“We plan to reinvest in our India consumer business over the next few quarters to strengthen service depth and breadth,” Bhal said. “As it scales efficiently, the segment is expected to achieve adjusted EBITDA margins of around 9-10%. Insta Help will expand our overall addressable market and improve usage frequency, in line with our long-term strategy.”

“Despite a relatively cool summer impacting seasonal categories, our total revenue was still up over 30%,” he said. “This is a clear sign that diversity across services and geographies is working.”

Native, which sells home decor and lifestyle products such as water and air purifiers and smart locks, saw its revenue grow 179% year-on-year. ₹75 crore, around 20% of the total revenue. Business narrows quarterly loss ₹9 crore ₹26 crore in the year-ago period.

“Native’s gross margin increased sharply, from a 30% loss last year to nearly 9% this quarter,” Bhal said. “It is growing rapidly thanks to better pricing discipline and offline traction.”

International operations spanning the UAE and Singapore, ₹43 crore or roughly 11% of overall revenue. The segment reached EBITDA breakeven, with order value rising 73% compared to the same period last year, signaling steady progress in profitability outside India.

“We are now establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in the UAE to deepen our presence in the Gulf region and expand Indigenous product sales,” Bhal said.

The platform currently employs more than 57,000 monthly active service professionals and serves 7.4 million annual transacting users in 51 cities.

“We are still in the early stages of expansion,” Bhal said. “Even across our 47 active cities, we have covered barely one-third of the potential micro markets. In the long run, this opportunity covers India’s top 100-200 cities.”

Appearance

Urban Company’s September quarter results underline that it has entered a conscious investment phase, said Sandeep Abhange, research analyst, consumer and mid-cap at financial services firm LKP Securities.

Although profitability has taken a temporary hit due to up-front investments in Insta Help, “management clearly sees this as a long-term growth tool that can deepen user engagement and expand the company’s daily use category,” he added.

Urban Company is done ₹He said the balance sheet of Rs 2,100 crore gives it the flexibility to continue the investment cycle. “The key thing to watch from here is how quickly Insta Help scales efficiently and Urban Company’s margins begin to normalize. Given its disciplined capital management and focus on free cash flow per share as a long-term performance metric, it is well positioned to maintain near-term investments.”

But competition is intensifying. Bengaluru-based home services platform Snabbit recently raised $30 million in a Series C funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments, valuing the startup at $180 million.

Urban Company’s shares closed up 2.36%. ₹158.30 per capita on NSE on Friday against Nifty’s decline of 0.60%.