CE Info Systems Ltd Q4 FY2022 Concall Summary

Key Takeaways

• FY22 recovery led by A&M: Automotive & Mobility rebounded to ~40% growth after a COVID-driven FY21 decline, while Consumer & Enterprise added 21%, together lifting total revenue.
• Order book compounds future revenue: New order bookings reached Rs. 523 Crores, up from Rs. 468 Crores, and the opening order book of Rs. 700 Crores provides multi-year visibility even though the annual conversion rate is declining.
• Platform and customer base deepening: Customers on the map and SaaS platform crossed 600+, retention among large customers hit 92%, and the top 80% of revenue now comes from 35 customers, up from 25 a year ago.
• Margins held wide ranges: PAT margin stayed in the 31–36% band and EBITDA margin in the 35–43% band; management intends to calibrate margins to fuel growth acceleration rather than maximize them in any single period.
• What to watch next year: Whether the Rs. 700 Crore order book converts at the guided ~24% rate, how quickly the newly acquired Gtropy IoT business scales, and whether the international Maapls platform gains any material revenue traction inside the 3–5 year window management set.

Segment Performance

• Consumer mix shift: Consumer segment contribution moved from 30% of revenue in FY20 to ~43% in FY22; both consumer and A&M segments carry similar margin profiles and grow independently.
• EV OEM traction: Multiple electric vehicle OEMs went live, including MG, Bajaj Chetak and Ola Electric (MoveOS 2 powered by MapmyIndia), expanding the NCASE suite beyond embedded navigation into safety, electric and connected capabilities.

Rohan Verma: "Both the markets are opening up and to be honest both of them have similar margin profiles for us, so it is hard to say which one will be larger or smaller."

Order Book & Revenue Visibility

• Opening order book: Rs. 699.6 Crores at the start of FY23, comprising fixed-price contracts, OEM volume-projection-based orders, and API transaction or subscription arrangements that are not booked in advance.
• Conversion mechanics: Revenue in any year is a combination of prior-year order book conversion and in-year orders converted within the same year; in FY22, Rs. 80 Crores of the Rs. 377 Crores opening order book was recognized, with the rest of revenue coming from in-year orders.
• Conversion rate declining: Management estimates ~24–24.5% of the Rs. 700 Crore order book (~Rs. 170 Crores) will convert to revenue in FY23, and noted the conversion rate trend is going down.
• Order booking as a compounding vector: New order bookings grew to Rs. 523 Crores in FY22 from Rs. 468 Crores in FY21; management stressed that order booking growth compounds future revenue even if it is a different vector than same-year revenue growth.

Platform, Product & Customer Expansion

• Maapls global platform launched: Released in Q4, integrating MapmyIndia's own India map data, 8–9 neighboring countries' data, and 200+ other countries' publicly available maps; described as map-agnostic and geography-agnostic.
• International go-to-market: A President for APAC has been hired (based in Korea, 20+ years of experience including 10 years at Hyundai) to drive Maapls international business from the US subsidiary; management sees true international revenue potential in a 3–5 year timeframe and is being deliberate about expansion.
• Customer base crossed 600: Up from 500+ in FY21, with retention among large customers improving from 88% (FY20) to 91% (FY21) to 92% (FY22).
• Diversification continuing: Top 80% of revenue came from 35 customers in FY22 vs 25 in FY21 and 17 in FY19.
• New product releases: Cloud maps (location search, routing, navigation, traffic, 2D/3D/HD rendering, real view for VR/AR) and a developer API suite covering map capabilities, automotive tech, geospatial and digital transformation.
• Drone and 3D mapping: Expanded drone solution capabilities are seeing increased adoption; a large state urban development authority signed up for multiple use cases using these capabilities.

Rohan Verma: "We are being a bit deliberate, a bit careful about how we expand, but that is what gives us that kind of excitement in the three to five years' time frame for the true international market revenue potential for us also."

Key Customer Wins & Use Cases

• Automotive: Signed a large Indian motorcycle OEM and an EV two-wheeler startup for NCASE; India's largest four-wheeler OEM went live with next-gen connected vehicles integrated with MapmyIndia maps; Nissan partnered for a road safety initiative.
• Enterprise & consumer tech: Two large FMCG majors went live (geospatial analytics platform and workforce automation platform); a large e-commerce company signed for geospatial analytics; a large CRM SaaS company integrated Map APIs for inbuilt location intelligence; a large global social media app integrated MapmyIndia map data.
• Government & smart cities: A large smart city signed for GIS-based property tax; a South Indian city signed for crime mapping under the Nirbhaya fund; a large state road transport corporation signed for a public transport platform.
• Japanese MaaS customer: Signed for a Mobility-as-a-Service foray into India.
• Use case replication: Many anchor use cases serve to be replicated across different customers in the same segment or across geographies, creating snowballing opportunities.

Acquisitions & Investments

• Gtropy Software (76% stake): Acquired for Rs. 13.5 Crores in March to boost the mobility aspect of A&M, focusing on on-road vehicles for goods transport, taxis and retail; Gtropy brings deep domain knowledge in logistics including fintech and ERP, complementing MapmyIndia's historic passenger-transport fleet focus.
• Pupilmesh (9.99% stake): Acquired for Rs. 49.95 lakhs in December, a company working on ADAS, AR and metaverse technology.
• IoT consolidation thesis: Management is very bullish on the consolidated IoT business, seeing a large market opportunity in digitizing the 28 crore existing vehicles on Indian roads and expecting consolidation in a fragmented market where MapmyIndia is a skilled, large player.

Margins, Costs & Cash Flow

• Contribution margin improved: Rose from 83% to 85% for the full year, providing high operating leverage to profitability.
• PAT and EBITDA margin ranges: Management stated PAT margin of 31–36% and EBITDA margin of 35–43% are good ranges to operate in, and it will calibrate margins to fuel future growth acceleration rather than maximize them.
• R&D spend: 2–3% of revenue is a good range going forward.
• Q4 employee cost dip: Employee expenses appeared lower due to a Rs. 5.25 Crore reversal of bonus and incentive provisions made in H1 that were decided not to be paid; on a full-year basis, employee cost grew from Rs. 53 Crores to Rs. 57 Crores.
• Attrition rising: Attrition rate rose to 17.45% in FY22 from 13.5% in FY21 and 12% in FY20, in a challenging tech talent market.
• Cash position: Cash and equivalents rose from ~Rs. 330 Crores to ~Rs. 380 Crores after paying dividends and completing the acquisition; management noted that movement of investments from current to non-current assets distorts operating cash flow under accounting standards.
• Receivables: Receivables as a percentage of sales did not increase; December billings tend to reflect in March 31 receivables.

Rakesh Verma: "When you move the amount or investments from a current to a noncurrent asset it immediately throws off and that is why you know we have tried to give you that cash and cash equivalent number which is from Rs. 330 Crores or something to Rs. 380 Crores after paying off dividend and after acquisition."

Guidance & Commitments

Key Metrics