28-Oct-2026 22:10:35

ROUTEDividend

ROUTE MOBILE LTD Q2 CONCALL: FY27 MID-SINGLE-DIGIT REVENUE GROWTH GUIDANCE REAFFIRMED, H2 ADJUSTED EBITDA MARGIN TARGET OF 12%, RCS & WHATSAPP REVENUE UP 36.7% & HIGH-MARGIN TELECOM FIREWALL EXPANSION

• MANAGEMENT REAFFIRMED MID-SINGLE-DIGIT REVENUE GROWTH EXPECTATIONS FOR FY27, NEAR THE MIDPOINT OF ITS PREVIOUS MID-TO-HIGH-SINGLE-DIGIT OUTLOOK • MANAGEMENT TARGETS APPROXIMATELY 12% ADJUSTED EBITDA MARGIN DURING H2 FY27, COMPARED WITH 10% REPORTED IN Q2 FY27 • MANAGEMENT EXPECTS MARGIN RECOVERY TO BE SUPPORTED BY NORMALIZATION OF ONE-TIME EXPENSES, IMPROVED SEASONAL DEMAND, HIGHER-MARGIN PRODUCT GROWTH & COST OPTIMIZATION • MANAGEMENT INDICATED APPROXIMATELY 6% YOY EBITDA GROWTH POTENTIAL IF THE EXPECTED MARGIN RECOVERY MATERIALIZES • MANAGEMENT EXPECTS Q3 FY27 REVENUE & MESSAGING VOLUMES TO BENEFIT FROM SEASONAL IMPROVEMENT, PARTICULARLY FESTIVE MARKETING CAMPAIGNS • MANAGEMENT EXPECTS RCS, WHATSAPP & IP-BASED MESSAGING PRODUCTS TO CONTRIBUTE AN INCREASING SHARE OF TOTAL REVENUE AS ENTERPRISES ADOPT CONVERSATIONAL COMMUNICATION • MANAGEMENT EXPECTS NEW-PRODUCT GROWTH TO BE SUPPORTED BY CONVERSATIONAL COMMERCE, CUSTOMER SERVICE, BANKING COMMUNICATIONS & EXPANDING DIRECT OPERATOR CONNECTIVITY • MANAGEMENT EXPECTS TELECOM FIREWALL SOLUTIONS TO BECOME AN IMPORTANT HIGH-MARGIN GROWTH DRIVER, SUPPORTED BY ADDITIONAL OPERATOR CONTRACT CONVERSIONS • MANAGEMENT HOPES TO CONVERT MORE TELECOM FIREWALL OPPORTUNITIES OVER THE NEXT FEW QUARTERS, ALTHOUGH NO SPECIFIC CONTRACT VALUE OR REVENUE TARGET WAS PROVIDED • MANAGEMENT INDICATED TYPICAL BLENDED TELECOM FIREWALL GROSS MARGINS OF APPROXIMATELY 50–60%, WITH SELECTED CUSTOMER CONTRACTS GENERATING MARGINS UP TO 70% • MANAGEMENT EXPECTS THE RECENTLY ACQUIRED AI CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT BUSINESS TO SCALE THROUGH ROUTE MOBILE & PROXIMUS SALES NETWORKS • MANAGEMENT PLANS TO EXPAND AI-POWERED CUSTOMER JOURNEY ORCHESTRATION, WHATSAPP ENGAGEMENT, RCS, VOICE AUTOMATION & COMMUNICATION ANALYTICS • MANAGEMENT SEES OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP SUBSCRIPTION-BASED & OUTCOME-BASED PRICING MODELS, REDUCING EXCLUSIVE DEPENDENCE ON TRANSACTION-LINKED MESSAGING REVENUE • MANAGEMENT EXPECTS CONTINUED DIFFICULT CONDITIONS IN TRADITIONAL INTERNATIONAL LONG-DISTANCE MESSAGING, WITH LIMITED NEAR-TERM VISIBILITY ON A SUSTAINED RECOVERY • MANAGEMENT IS PRIORITIZING ABSOLUTE GROSS PROFIT OVER LOW-MARGIN MESSAGING VOLUME GROWTH, PARTICULARLY IN COMPETITIVE INTERNATIONAL ROUTES • MANAGEMENT EXPECTS NEW DIRECT ENTERPRISE CONTRACTS, INCLUDING OUTBOUND BANKING COMMUNICATIONS, TO PARTLY OFFSET WEAKNESS IN INTERNATIONAL AGGREGATOR TRAFFIC • MANAGEMENT IS MONITORING THE IMPACT OF SEPTEMBER 2026 RCS PRICING CHANGES ON CUSTOMER DEMAND, WITH GREATER CLARITY EXPECTED AFTER THE FESTIVE SEASON • MANAGEMENT INDICATED RCS MARKETING-MESSAGE PRICES INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY, IN SOME CASES APPROACHING DOUBLE PREVIOUS LEVELS, WHILE UTILITY & AUTHENTICATION PRICES CHANGED ONLY MARGINALLY • MANAGEMENT EXPECTS SECURITY-RELATED EXPENSES & PERFORMANCE BONUS PROVISIONS THAT AFFECTED RECENT OPERATING COSTS TO NORMALIZE • MANAGEMENT CONTINUES TO EXPLORE ACQUISITIONS THAT STRENGTHEN GEOGRAPHICAL PRESENCE, ADVANCED MESSAGING CAPABILITIES & AI-DRIVEN CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT • MANAGEMENT IDENTIFIED LATIN AMERICA, SAUDI ARABIA, SOUTHEAST ASIA & SELECTED WESTERN MARKETS AS POTENTIAL AREAS FOR ACQUISITION EVALUATION • MANAGEMENT CONFIRMED THAT NO ADDITIONAL ACQUISITION HAD REACHED THE SIGNED-AGREEMENT STAGE AT THE TIME OF THE CALL • MANAGEMENT DID NOT PROVIDE EXACT FY27 PAT GUIDANCE OR A FIRM NUMERICAL REVENUE TARGET FOR TELECOM FIREWALLS & AI ENGAGEMENT • Q2 FY27 REVENUE INCREASED 5.4% YOY & 2.4% QOQ TO APPROXIMATELY ₹1,180 CR, REFLECTING MODERATE TOP-LINE GROWTH • H1 FY27 REVENUE INCREASED 7.4% YOY TO APPROXIMATELY ₹2,331 CR • Q2 GROSS PROFIT INCREASED 6.8% YOY & 9.8% QOQ TO ₹264 CR, SUPPORTED BY IMPROVED CUSTOMER TRAFFIC MIX & NEW-PRODUCT CONTRIBUTIONS • Q2 GROSS PROFIT MARGIN RECOVERED TO 22.4%, COMPARED WITH 20.9% IN Q1 FY27 & 22.1% IN Q2 FY26 • GROSS MARGIN EXPANDED APPROXIMATELY 150 BPS SEQUENTIALLY, REFLECTING THE RETURN OF HIGHER-MARGIN CUSTOMER TRAFFIC & BETTER PRODUCT MIX • Q2 ADJUSTED EBITDA MARGIN STOOD AT 10%, IMPROVING APPROXIMATELY 50 BPS QOQ • ADJUSTED EBITDA IS IMPLIED AT APPROXIMATELY ₹118 CR BASED ON THE REPORTED 10% MARGIN & ₹1,180 CR REVENUE; THE ABSOLUTE FIGURE IS NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT • Q2 ADJUSTED PAT STOOD AT APPROXIMATELY ₹82.5 CR, DECLINING 17.8% YOY BUT IMPROVING 20.4% SEQUENTIALLY • RCS, WHATSAPP & IP MESSAGING REVENUE INCREASED 36.7% YOY & 35.8% QOQ TO APPROXIMATELY ₹128 CR • NEW-PRODUCT REVENUE CONTRIBUTION INCREASED TO APPROXIMATELY 10.8% OF TOTAL REVENUE, COMPARED WITH AROUND 8% A YEAR EARLIER • MANAGEMENT CLARIFIED THAT THE RECENT AI ENGAGEMENT ACQUISITION CONTRIBUTED ONLY APPROXIMATELY ₹5 CR TO Q2 REVENUE, INDICATING THAT MOST NEW-PRODUCT GROWTH WAS ORGANIC • TELECOM FIREWALL SOLUTIONS WERE DEPLOYED ACROSS 12 OPERATORS, WITH THE BUSINESS CONTRIBUTING A SINGLE-DIGIT PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL REVENUE • MANAGEMENT INDICATED REVENUE FROM THE CLARO FIREWALL CUSTOMER WAS ALREADY ACTIVE & STABILIZED • H1 NET REVENUE RETENTION STOOD AT APPROXIMATELY 105%, REFLECTING CONTINUED SPENDING BY THE EXISTING CUSTOMER BASE • RECURRING REVENUE CONTRIBUTION INCREASED TO APPROXIMATELY 93% ON A TRAILING 12-MONTH BASIS, COMPARED WITH 89% PREVIOUSLY • TOP-FIVE CUSTOMER REVENUE CONCENTRATION DECLINED TO APPROXIMATELY 30% FROM 33%, INDICATING IMPROVING CUSTOMER DIVERSIFICATION • FINANCIAL SERVICES CONTRIBUTED APPROXIMATELY 15% OF REVENUE, WHILE DIGITAL-NATIVE CUSTOMERS ACCOUNTED FOR AROUND 12% • Q2 BILLABLE TRANSACTIONS REACHED APPROXIMATELY 47.6 BILLION, WHILE H1 TRANSACTIONS STOOD AT 93.4 BILLION • THE AI ENGAGEMENT ACQUISITION WAS COMPLETED IN JULY 2026 FOR APPROXIMATELY ₹33.7 CR, INCLUDING ₹23.9 CR PAID AT CLOSING & ₹9.8 CR DEFERRED OVER 18 MONTHS • MANAGEMENT INDICATED APPROXIMATELY ₹1,150–1,200 CR OF FREE CASH DURING THE DISCUSSION, WHILE AN ANALYST REFERRED TO TOTAL CASH OF AROUND ₹1,350 CR; THE TRANSCRIPT DOES NOT FULLY RECONCILE THESE FIGURES • MANAGEMENT DID NOT ANNOUNCE A SPECIFIC SHARE BUYBACK OR ENHANCED DIVIDEND COMMITMENT, PREFERRING TO EVALUATE STRATEGIC ACQUISITION OPPORTUNITIES • KEY RISKS INCLUDE FAILURE TO ACHIEVE THE 12% ADJUSTED EBITDA MARGIN TARGET, PERSISTENT ILD MESSAGING WEAKNESS, RCS PRICING IMPACT, FIREWALL CONTRACT DELAYS & ACQUISITION INTEGRATION • OVERALL OUTLOOK REMAINS CAUTIOUSLY POSITIVE, WITH KEY MONITORABLES INCLUDING H2 FY27 ADJUSTED EBITDA MARGIN RECOVERY TOWARD 12%, MID-SINGLE-DIGIT FY27 REVENUE GROWTH, SUSTAINED RCS & WHATSAPP MOMENTUM, TELECOM FIREWALL CONVERSIONS & AI ENGAGEMENT SCALING

ROUTE MOBILE LIMITED

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