Yatra Reports Record-Breaking Year Amidst Macro Headwinds
Yatra, India's leading travel company, has reported a record-breaking year amidst significant macro headwinds. Despite three out of 12 months being impacted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and international travel disruptions, Yatra managed to achieve its most profitable year in the company's 20-year history.
The company's fiscal fourth quarter and full-year 2026 financial results call highlighted this strong performance, with revenue from operations growing 27% year-over-year to INR 10,074 million or approximately $107 million. While revenue less service cost, which is Yatra's gross margin, increased to INR 4,801 million, a growth of 22.6% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA grew to INR 564 million, or approximately $6 million, reflecting strong operating leverage.
One of the key highlights from the quarter was the addition of 163 new corporate customers with annual billable value of approximately INR 9,568 million, or about $102 million, up from 148 customers and INR 7,475 million, or $80 million, in FY 2025. This demonstrates the continued traction in Yatra's enterprise travel business and the strength of its go-to-market execution.
Online penetration of corporate travel is still less than 25% in India in the managed business travel segment. As the market leader, Yatra is best positioned to capitalize on this as the industry moves up the online penetration curve. The company has also demonstrated over the years that it not only has the ability to acquire customers but with a retention rate of almost 97%, have the ability to retain them for a very long lifetime value as well.
However, the escalating conflict significantly impacted Yatra's MICE and international corporate travel business, weighing on the overall Q4 results. Several Q4 MICE and international corporate group travel bookings were either canceled or deferred into FY 2027. Barring the impact of this, it was quite likely that Yatra would have reported stronger results ahead of last year's performance.
The current conflict and balance of payments challenge has also heightened the government's focus on domestic tourism as a strategic pillar. Yatra, given its market-leading domestic hotel supply, is extremely well-positioned to capitalize on this trend. The company has enhanced its API infrastructure framework, and a migration onto the Google Cloud platform has significantly improved its ability to distribute its hotel content to a large network of domestic and international travelers.
From a quarters perspective, despite the headwinds, Yatra reported resilient performance in Q4, especially in its core Air and Hotel segments. Gross bookings grew 8% year-over-year. Air passenger volumes were up 9.6% year-over-year, roughly 2x the industry growth rate, reflecting continued market share gains. The company's hotels business continued its strong momentum with room nights growing 36% in the quarter and gross bookings growing 9%, despite the significant disruption in MICE.
Overall, Yatra's performance in Q4 and FY 2026 is a testament to its resilience and commitment to innovation. Despite the challenges posed by macro headwinds, the company has managed to report record-breaking results, demonstrating its ability to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing market.
