Urban Company Ltd reported a wider loss in its first quarterly results since listing, as it increased investments in its new on-demand vertical, Insta Help, marking a clear shift from short-term profitability to long-term expansion in India’s home-services market.
The Gurugram-based firm posted a net loss of ₹59.3 crore in the September quarter, compared to ₹1.8 crore in the same period last year. However, revenue from operations jumped 37% year-on-year to ₹380 crore, driven by robust demand in beauty, cleaning, and home-maintenance services.
Co-founder and CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal said the quarter marked the beginning of a new investment cycle to scale high-frequency categories. “We are deliberately investing in categories that deepen customer engagement. Insta Help has reached nearly 4.7 lakh monthly orders in just eight months — a milestone that took our India consumer business four and a half years to achieve,” Bhal said.
He added that near-term profits would remain subdued as the company focuses on building a long-term, sustainable platform. “Controlling the end-to-end customer experience and empowering service professionals with better tools and training is the only durable growth model,” he said.
Business performance
Urban Company’s net transaction value (NTV) grew 34% year-on-year to ₹1,030 crore, supported by growth across India, international markets, and its home products brand, Native.
Despite the strong topline, adjusted EBITDA turned to a loss of ₹35 crore from a ₹21 crore profit in the previous quarter. “The short-term margin dip is intentional,” Bhal said. “Every rupee spent now is focused on long-term engagement and habit formation.”
Segment breakdown
- India Consumer Services — including grooming, cleaning, and appliance repair — generated ₹262 crore, or 69% of total revenue, with strong repeat rates and partner utilization.
- Native, the company’s home and lifestyle products arm, saw revenue surge 179% year-on-year to ₹75 crore, while narrowing losses to ₹9 crore from ₹26 crore a year earlier.
- International operations (UAE and Singapore) contributed ₹43 crore, or 11% of total revenue, achieving EBITDA breakeven with order value up 73% year-on-year.
Growth outlook
Urban Company plans to reinvest in its India consumer business over the next few quarters to strengthen service coverage and expects adjusted EBITDA margins to stabilize around 9–10% as operations scale.
The company currently works with 57,000 active professionals and serves 7.4 million annual users across 51 cities. Bhal said Urban Company is still in the early stages of growth, with expansion potential across 100–200 Indian cities.
Urban Company’s shares closed 2.36% higher at ₹158.30 on the NSE on Friday, outperforming the broader Nifty index, which fell 0.60%.
