ET NEWS

SoftBank-backed Oyo recorded a profit after tax (PAT) of over Rs 200 crore in quarter one of the current fiscal year, as per an email from founder Ritesh Agarwal to the company’s management committee and its shareholders. The email was seen by ET. In a separate notification sent to its shareholders and seen by ET, the company has sought approval to issue bonus shares in a 1:1 ratio, which will double its authorised share capital to Rs 24,31,13,59,300. It has also proposed increasing the ESOP pool by 8.8 crore stock options.As per the email sent by Agarwal to the company’s management committee, Oyo’s PAT more than doubled year-on-year, rising from Rs 87 crore in quarter one of fiscal year 2025.The email mentioned that the company's revenue grew to Rs 2,019 crore, up 47% from Rs 1,371 crore in quarter one of fiscal year 2025, and the Gross Booking Value (GBV) reached Rs 7227 crore in quarter one of fiscal year 2026, marking a 144% increase year-on-year from Rs 2966 crore in quarter one of financial year 2025. Agarwal said this was driven by both hotel openings and double-digit same-store growth, premiumization and improved room utilisation.Agarwal further stated that the bottom line has been driven by ‘strong’ top-line performance in its premium brands like Townhouse hotels, Sunday hotels with disciplined cost management and a firm focus on customer experience. “Our two years of PAT profits now allow us to continue focusing on topline growth, which stands at 47% this quarter, a particularly meaningful achievement given our relatively flat topline in financial year 2024,” Agarwal said in the email.As per the email, Agarwal said for the full fiscal year 2025, Oyo clocked a GBV of Rs. 16,250 crore and revenue reached Rs 6,252 crore. “Our net profit for financial year 2025 was Rs 244 crore, which reflects the impact of one-time accelerated loan repayment costs,” Agarwal stated.Agarwal said these repayments are expected to generate a recurring annual benefit of approximately Rs. 50 crore. “A benefit that is already evident in the strong quarter one financial year 2026 performance,” stated Agarwal in his email to the management committee.“As a reference, IHCL-the leading hotel company in India- delivered quarter one financial year 2026 EBITDA of Rs 637 crore and PAT of Rs 296 crore demonstrating its continued leadership and the bullishness in the hospitality industry,” he added.Agarwal said looking ahead, the company will continue to scale profitably by ‘enhancing’ customer experience, ‘expanding’ premium offerings, and ‘maintaining’ operational discipline.

India's markets regulator launched a formal investigation into Jane Street's trading practices even though its surveillance department had recommended otherwise, due to continued complaints from market participants, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) also believed inadequate data was used in the initial probe into the U.S. high-frequency trading firm, the people said, amid fears it might have manipulated the country's stock and bond markets. SEBI on July 4 temporarily barred the firm from local markets on allegations of market manipulation, which the company has denied. SEBI imposed a $567 million penalty on Jane Street, which the company has deposited. While it can restart trading in India, it has refrained from doing so, Reuters reported last month. On Wednesday, Jane Street filed an appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) against SEBI seeking documents and data which led to the formal inquiry. The firm questioned why the regulator went against the advice of its own surveillance department that the inquiry against Jane Street should be closed and sought documents that supported the regulator's change of stance. The appeal will be heard on Monday by the Tribunal. Emails sent to SEBI and Jane Street seeking comments were not answered. The firm had earlier declined to comment on its appeal. According to the two sources, SEBI's top leadership was not satisfied with the robustness of the first examination concluded by its own surveillance department on December 11 and chose to initiate a formal investigation towards the end of December 2024, which gives it powers to seek data from the trading firm's custodian bank and domestic trading partner. A formal investigation is a quasi-legal process under Indian regulatory rules, in contrast to an internal enquiry. According to Sumit Agrawal, a former SEBI official and founding partner of Regstreet Law Advisor, once a formal investigation is initiated any prior conclusions lose their weight, and the process begins anew. "Earlier determinations, whether favorable or adverse, are set aside in favor of an independent investigation," he said. The regulator had also continued to receive complaints from market participants of manipulation of India's key indexes, the two people said. The firm in its appeal has sought copies of these complaints. One such complaint was filed by UAE-based options trader Mayank Bansal on December 17, who told Reuters that "communication between a market participant and the regulator is premised on confidentiality". The department which oversees India's market regulation later that month recommended opening an investigation to bring finality to the matter, the first source said. SEBI tasked a new team with reviewing the firm's trading activity over a much longer time frame than the trading data examined by its surveillance department. The data was also much more detailed, the two people said. While the regulator continued the investigation it issued a warning to the firm through Indian exchanges in February that it should refrain from taking large positions on days when derivatives contracts expire, according to regulator's 4 July order. Price volatility can often spike around those expirations. But the firm's trading performance on May 15 which earned it 3.7 billion rupees ($42.28 million) forced SEBI's hand to pass an order, said the first source. "SEBI officers worked overnight to finish its investigation in June, which ultimately led to passing the order," the first person said.