Shares of Just Dial Ltd experienced a significant surge, climbing 10% in Friday's trade to reach a high of Rs 704.65 on the BSE. This substantial gain follows a positive outlook from Kotak Institutional Equities, which reportedly retained its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,175.
New Management and Strategic Initiatives
Kotak's optimistic stance is largely attributed to expectations surrounding Just Dial's recently appointed management team, led by new CEO Dinkar Ayilavarapu. The brokerage firm anticipates that the new leadership will sharpen its focus on key growth areas, including enhanced merchant acquisition and a stronger return on investment (ROI).
Further strategic initiatives are expected to drive growth, such as new product launches designed to support merchant expansion and accelerate business-to-business (B2B) collections. The company is also reportedly exploring other verticals with limited or no competition, aiming to revive collections growth, which was previously subdued at 1.6% year-on-year in FY2026.
Solid Q1FY27 Financial Performance
Just Dial recently reported robust financial results for Q1FY27. The company posted a revenue of Rs 327.50 crore, marking a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 9.9% and a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth of 6.6%. Operating Ebitda stood at Rs 87.40 crore, reflecting a 1.1% increase, while net profit for the quarter reached Rs 166.20 crore, up 4.1% YoY.
Platform engagement remained strong, with 19.29 crore unique quarterly visitors recorded. As of June 30, total business listings on the platform had surpassed 5.61 crore, indicating a healthy and expanding user base.
AI as a Force Multiplier
In its recent earnings press release, Just Dial emphasized the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on its operations. The company stated that AI has emerged as a genuine force multiplier, significantly enhancing both user experience and business productivity.
AI voice agents are being utilized to understand user intent and qualify leads with greater precision, leading to more effective buyer-seller matches. Furthermore, AI agents are deployed across sales workflows to refine lead nurturing, allowing sales teams to concentrate on high-intent opportunities. Other areas benefiting from AI integration include cataloguing, listing verification, and customer support, which are helping Just Dial manage scale and complexity while providing richer business information and faster issue resolution for users.