NEW DELHI: Makemytrip, the online travel-booking portal, is targeting Rs 1,700 crore revenues from gross bookings in the current fiscal. It expects to be profitable by the last quarter with an increased focus on high-margin non-air businesses, the company’s chief financial officer said.

Makemytrip also plans to file for an initial public offer 24 months after the company turns profitable. However, it did not provide details of the IPO plans.

In the last fiscal, the Gurgaon-based company earned Rs 1,000 crore from gross bookings. Of this, 73% came from airline bookings. Makemytrip sells more than 9,000 tickets online per day, including 1,000 international tickets.

Its competitor Yatra.com claims a 35% market share and is expected to post revenues of $250 million in 2008. Currently 88% of Yatra’s revenues come from air bookings.
Makemytrip plans to raise the share of its non-air business to 40% by the fiscal end from 30%. Airline tickets have a margin of 5%, whereas hotel bookings, car rentals, rail tours and packages command margins of more than 15%.

Industry reports peg the total travel industry in India at about $20 billion, of which online airline bookings account for about $2 billion.
“I think there is a possibility of consolidation happening in the online travel booking space,” Rajesh Magow, chief financial officer, Makemytrip, said.

However, he added that he is not looking to buy any online travel portals and that the inorganic growth strategy would be chalked out by the year-end.
Makemytrip competes with Yatra, Travelguru, Cleartrip, Arzoo, Ezeego1 in the Indian online travel booking space.

Venture capital funds have a majority stake in the portal. However, valuations of the company could not be immediately confirmed.
vivek_s@dnaindia.net