Tech3 | IT hiring slowdown hits Info Edge billings; Nykaa loses sheen; and more

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In today’s newsletter:

? Info Edge feels the IT chills

? Nykaa loses sheen

? HCLTech seeing highest ever deal pipeline: CFO

Info Edge feels the IT chills

When the IT sector sneezes, Info Edge catches a cold.

Driving the news: Info Edge's revenue rose 15% to Rs 626 crore in the June quarter, but its net profit fell 50% to Rs 147 crore. This was due to a flat billings growth of its recruitment platform, Naukri.

? Naukri was impacted during the quarter due to a slowdown in IT hiring. 50% of the company's recruitment business is indexed to IT hiring

? Billings for the June quarter dropped marginally by 0.2% year-on-year to Rs 523 crore

Oberoi, however, expressed confidence in the growth of captives, which are on a quiet march and already employ 16 lakh people in the country. He added that while there is movement, hiring by captives is a fraction of total IT hiring.

‘Backing 4B was a mistake’

In the concall, Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani acknowledged that investing in Rahul Yadav-founded realty startup 4B Networks was a mistake.

"Investors do go wrong... 4B was a mistake. I think we have to admit it. You can't write off Rs 288 crore saying it wasn't a mistake. It was a mistake," he said.

This comes after Info Edge, the Zomato and Policybazaar backer, initiated a forensic audit of 4B Networks for not allowing the investor access to its financials and other business information.The two go into arbitration on August 14

? Bikchandani also said that valuations and round sizes have come down in the startup ecosystem, making it a good time to make fresh bets on young companies

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