Affle 3i Limited — Q3 FY26
Affle delivered a strong Q3 FY26 with revenue of INR 718 crore (+19.2% YoY) and EBITDA of INR 163 crore (+24.1% YoY), marking the 11th consecutive quarter of sequential growth.
bullish
high
✓ Verified against BSE filing
Claim Ledger
Did management answer the analysts?
Every material analyst question, graded on whether management actually answered it — with the verbatim exchange and quantitative claims checked against filed numbers.
55%Questions answered2Evaded / deflected11Questions auditedMixedNumbers vs filing
Partial answer
High priority
How will gross margin move in medium term given sharp jump?
Asked by Shobit Singal, Anandrati
Explained increase as investment but did not quantify future margin trajectory.
no specific margin guidancereframed as investment
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Question
how do you see your gross margin moving in the medium term because we have seen a sharp jump up around 230 bps year on year...
Anand (CEO)
we are absolutely clear that our data and inventory cost has two elements... we are in that phase of expansion where we are investing into the data and inventory cost to build our intelligence verticalized intelligence for international markets
Partial answer
High priority
Progress on inorganic acquisition of 10-12 companies?
Asked by Shobit Singal, Anandrati
Provided update on shortlist but no specific timeline or deal details.
no timeline givenno names
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Question
any progress on that front and how soon we can expect to close.
Anand (CEO)
we have shortlisted amongst them. We've narrowed that pool down to now four companies and we're doing active due diligence assessments... we will make a firm and a sensible decision progressively at the right time at the right price.
Evasive
High priority
Why incremental data cost exceeds incremental revenue?
Asked by Deep Shah, BNK Securities
Answered a different metric (OCF) instead of explaining the cost-revenue gap.
did not address data cost vs revenue mismatchanswered about OCF instead
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Question
incremental revenue over last 6 months has been 968 million... but incremental data increase is 1590 million. So is there something more to it?
Capil (CFO)
we have been mentioning that our target of OCF to PAT ratio is greater than 80%... we believe that we'll be achieving in the range of 85 to 95% OCF for this year also
Answered
Medium priority
What drove 3.1% YoY CPCU rate increase despite EM mix?
Asked by Deep Shah, BNK Securities
Provided clear explanation of strategies driving CPCU increase.
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Question
share of developing or EM rather has increased which would typically put strain on the CPC rate and yet we've delivered 3.1%. So is this a shift of the nature of campaigns?
Anand (CEO)
we have been able to inconsistently increase our charging rate the CPCU rate... two key strategies: verticalization and giving them premium users... allowing us to charge a higher price
Partial answer
High priority
What is driving India growth despite RMG impact? Maintain 20% guidance?
Asked by Anmol Girk, Dam Capital
Answered India drivers but gave internal range instead of confirming guidance.
did not explicitly reaffirm 20% guidancegave internal range
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Question
what is leading to this? and secondly, now that we are already at 19% kind of growth levels on the overall company side, do we kind of maintain our 20% growth guidance going ahead?
Anand (CEO)
India is our anchor market... growth in India is very resilient... internal KPI to the team is that both revenue and EBITDA have to grow on an average of about over 20 to 25%.
Evasive
Low priority
Was there a wage hike this quarter? Employee expense flat?
Asked by Anmol Girk, Dam Capital
Did not directly answer whether wage hike occurred; spoke generally about compensation.
did not confirm or deny wage hikevague answer
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Question
do we did we have wage hike during the quarter? Our employee expense was more or less flat during the quarter.
Anand (CEO)
we have given a handsome VA to the people who deserve... overall even with all of that we are able to keep our operating expenses in check in control.
Partial answer
High priority
What is the split between current revenue cost and investment in gross margin?
Asked by Rohan Nakpal, Helas Capital Management
Provided a general 10% figure but declined to give specific quarterly breakdown.
gave long-term average but refused quarterly split
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Question
Can you please provide some colors on the split between the two so we can get a sense of what the underlying gross margin is for the business.
Anand (CEO)
around 10% of our data and inventory cost is investing into the future... I will not be able to give any short-term breakups for that.
Answered
High priority
Quantify revenue loss from real money gaming ban and which areas made up?
Asked by Anandi, Nepan Capital
Provided specific quantification of revenue loss and confirmed broad-based recovery.
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Question
could you quantify what that reduction is and what areas outside of gaming have made up for that loss?
Capil (CFO)
you can assume about 10 to 12 crores of revenue on the base effect for the quarter three of the last year which has not recorded in this quarter.
Answered
Medium priority
Which segments are now largest for you in India?
Asked by Abhishek Banerjee, ICICI Securities
Clearly identified top-performing verticals in India.
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Question
can you just tell us overall in India now which are the segments which would have become largest for you.
Anand (CEO)
in category E and F, we are doing exceptionally well... e-commerce, education, entertainment, fintech, food tech, FMCG.
Evasive
High priority
When can global markets return to earlier growth rates?
Asked by Abhishek Banerjee, ICICI Securities
Did not provide a timeline for returning to higher growth rates.
no timeline givenvague on acceleration
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Question
what do you think and by when do you think we can go back to the kind of growth rates that we are seeing a couple of quarters back?
Anand (CEO)
this is the baseline of growth that we can anchor ourselves on... we are looking at both organic and inorganic investments... we will absolutely go for capturing the full growth potential
Partial answer
High priority
Can organic growth in developed markets materially accelerate?
Asked by Siddharth Mishra, Fidelity International
Explained that acceleration requires time and M&A, but did not quantify potential.
no specific acceleration rate given
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Question
when you talk about full potential of growth is that growth materially higher which is possible in developed markets... or is this the investments you've done to maintain the growth at these levels.
Anand (CEO)
to get meaningful coverage across all of our 10-12 verticals with all the advertisers in those markets it is going to take time... inorganic transaction can shift the gear of organic growth from third gear to fifth gear.
Partial answer
High priority
Will inventory cost as % of revenue stay structurally higher?
Asked by Siddharth Mishra, Fidelity International
Indicated continued investment for several quarters but no end date.
no specific timeline for normalization
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Question
the inventory costs have gone up this quarter as a percentage of revenues. So is it something which will come down from these levels or will be structurally higher going forward?
Anand (CEO)
this is something that we will continue to do for at least a few more quarters till we can unlock the full potential of all the industry verticals...
Quantitative claims vs filed numbers
| Claim | Management said | Filing | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth 19.2% YoY, EBITDA growth 24.1% YoY | 19.2% | 19.2% | Matches filing |
| EBITDA growth 24.1% YoY | 24.1% | 163% | Understated vs filing |
| RMG revenue loss of 10-12 crores in Q3 FY26 vs Q3 FY25 | ₹12 cr | ₹718 cr | Understated vs filing |
| Internal target: revenue growth 20-25%, EBITDA growth 20-25% | 25% | 19.2% | Overstated vs filing |
Filed figures sourced from Screener.in. Claims within a small tolerance of the filing are marked “matches filing”.