RateGain FY26: A larger company, a heavier balance sheet, and a clearer FY27 target

RateGain Travel Technologies ended FY26 with a step-change in scale, helped by the consolidation of Sojern. In Q4 FY26, consolidated operating revenue rose to INR 715.5 crore, up 174.5% year on year. For FY26, operating revenue grew 69.4% to INR 1,823.6 crore.

Profitability looked strong on adjusted measures, but the reported profit line reflected acquisition-related accounting and financing effects. Q4 FY26 adjusted EBITDA was INR 167.9 crore at a 23.5% margin, while FY26 adjusted EBITDA was INR 358.3 crore at a 19.6% margin. Adjusted PAT for FY26 was INR 249.9 crore, but reported PAT was lower at INR 194.4 crore, down 7.0% year on year.

Management’s framing was direct: FY26 was the year the company became structurally different. The Sojern integration is stated to be ahead of plan, cost synergies were delivered in Q4, and customer migration to a unified Sojern platform is targeted to complete by end of Q2.

Growth came from MarTech, while Distribution had a soft year

The investor deck highlights that RateGain now operates through three core segments aligned to the travel customer journey: MarTech, DaaS, and Distribution.

MarTech was the main driver of headline growth. FY26 segment growth rates showed MarTech up 146.0% year on year, with the company also disclosing organic growth of 18.9% within MarTech. DaaS grew 7.8%, while Distribution declined 12.4%.

In revenue mix terms for FY26, MarTech formed 69.1% of revenue, DaaS 20.2%, and Distribution 10.7%. Geography was led by North America at 58.8%, followed by Asia Pacific at 24.9% and Europe at 14.6%.

While Distribution was weak on reported growth, management argued the year was used to strengthen the platform with AI-led additions. They positioned the UNO platform as moving from pure connectivity to distribution optimisation and automation.

Financial performance and what changed after the acquisition

The consolidated P&L table in the deck shows how sharply the cost base expanded with the consolidated entity. In Q4 FY26, employee expenses were INR 269.5 crore and other expenses were INR 299.0 crore.

The bridge from EBITDA to PAT is important context. The CFO highlighted recurring items such as amortisation of acquisition cost and finance costs, and noted that part of the EBITDA-to-PAT delta is non-cash because amortisation is a non-cash charge.

On cash, the company reported FY26 free cash flow of INR 230.0 crore. Net cash from operating activities for FY26 was INR 233.7 crore.

On the balance sheet, non-current assets rose sharply to INR 2,605.2 crore at March 2026, largely due to goodwill of INR 1,581.0 crore and other intangible assets of INR 784.9 crore, reflecting acquisition accounting. Borrowings appeared in both non-current and current liabilities, with non-current borrowings of INR 682.6 crore and current borrowings of INR 238.7 crore. The deck also cites net debt of INR 722.3 crore.

Core financial snapshot (Consolidated)

Notes: Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted PAT are presented by the company as adjusted for deferred deal consideration related to the Sojern acquisition. FY26 adjusted PAT also accounts for a one-time exceptional expense in Q3 FY26.

Integration, data scale, and the AI product layer

The central strategic claim is that the combined entity now has an unmatched travel intent data platform. On the call, the company said it has over 320 data partners on a combined basis, and tracks over 1.5 billion travel graph IDs.

Management described the integration as delivering two outcomes at once: operational efficiency from cost synergy and a stronger data moat that supports pricing power and commercial momentum.

Product announcements were used to reinforce that AI is being embedded across workflows rather than being treated as a pilot.

Agentic ARI was presented as a next-generation ARI engine that autonomously prioritises ARI updates based on booking urgency and commercial impact. The deck claims 30 to 40% optimisation in ARI traffic and fewer mismatches.

RateIQ was positioned as a revenue recovery intelligence layer focused on distribution inefficiencies, including missing listings, missing ARI, parity violations, and performance drift.

RG Pay was introduced as a unified payment infrastructure with support for local payment methods, BNPL and EMI integrations, virtual card settlement in 25 plus currencies, and cross-border FX optimisation. The deck cites potential metrics such as 15% revenue uplift, 2 to 4% reduction in revenue leakage, and about 20% lift in stay conversion.

FY27 guidance sets a high bar

Management gave explicit FY27 guidance. Revenue is expected at INR 3,000 crore to INR 3,100 crore, implying 65% to 70% growth over FY26. EBITDA is guided at INR 650 crore to INR 700 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 21.5% to 22.5%. Management clarified that this margin guidance excludes the earn-out consideration linked to the Sojern acquisition.

The company also discussed the earn-out mechanics. Management indicated deferred deal consideration related to Sojern is expected to be in the range of INR 20 crore to INR 22 crore per quarter for 12 quarters, with true-up based on actual performance.

On capital structure, management stated it expects to retire acquisition-related debt by FY28 end and be debt free by FY28. The CFO also said USD 31.5 million has been repaid to date, bringing the outstanding balance to USD 93.5 million.

Cash discipline remains a key part of the narrative. The CFO said free cash flow to EBITDA conversion is expected to be higher than 75% in FY27.

Takeaways

FY26 delivered scale, but also brought a heavier balance sheet and a larger EBITDA-to-PAT gap driven by amortisation and finance costs. The company is leaning on integration progress, cost synergies and its travel intent data platform to justify the step-up.

The FY27 guidance is specific and ambitious, and it sets clear checkpoints for investors: execution on cross-sell across a 13,000-plus customer base, stabilisation and return to growth in Distribution, and sustaining margins while continuing GTM investments. The next year is positioned as a shift from integration to monetisation, and the numbers will need to validate that shift.