Introduction

C.E. Infosystems Limited (MapMyIndia) is a company that creates digital maps and geographical data that allows apps, devices, and vehicles to understand locations. This powers services that rely on knowing locations and patterns across locations. Their solutions cater to consumers, companies, developers and governments within India. The company was founded in 1992 by Rakesh and Rashmi Verma and is headquartered in New Delhi, India.

Industry

Over the last three years, India’s geospatial market has registered a significant growth hitting 28 thousand crores INR in 2022, from 23 thousand crores INR in 2019. The sector has the potential to contribute substantially in generating employment, creating knowledge, and escalating socio-economic progress of the nation.

Furthermore, the prospect of integrating geospatial technologies with emerging technologies such as AI, ML and IoT gives an outlook for the industry that is promising, to say the least.

With the Government of India utilizing several applications of geospatial technologies in its various missions ranging from departmental to national projects, the confidence in the Indian geospatial market soars high. (1)

Key Market Players

1. Google Maps – Google Maps generates revenue through advertising and offering paid API’s to business that support navigation, tracking, and mapping features. This allows them to provide the free service users appreciate while profiting businesses for enhanced visibility and functionality. 
2. TomTom NV – TomTom N.V. develops and sells navigation and location-based products and services worldwide. It offers standard definition, high definition (HD) maps and map data, traffic and travel information products, including real-time traffic, hazard warning, speed camera, speed profile, fuel and weather services, electric vehicle (EV) and parking services, and routing.
3. Mapbox Inc – Mapbox operates a mapping platform that creates customized maps for apps and websites. Their products provide maps, real-time fleet tracking, navigation services, and developer tools to integrate mapping and location into applications.
4. AutoNavi Holdings Ltd – AutoNavi Holdings is a Chinese provider of digital maps, navigation solutions, and location-based services. Its offerings include pre-installed and downloadable navigation apps, map data for auto makers, and location solutions tailored for mobile carriers.

Business Model

MapMyIndia is the leading digital mapping operator in India which has a heavy focus on the Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C) side of things which makes it less popular compared to the more Business to Consumer focused (B2C) map operators such as Google Maps. It has various revenue streams focusing largely on subscription fee based model which could be based on time or uses compared to the advertisment only model of Google Maps.

MapMyIndia has an asset light model with these digital mapping assets that form the base of all their product offerings. Additionally they are collaborators with the Government for the Digital India Initiative. This along with the policy restricitng foreign mapping operators has lead to MapMyIndia to become the monopoly in the space.

1.  Map as a Service (MaaS) – They offer indigenously created map data as products to some digital map providers such as Apple Maps. These maps are AI-enabled and provide updated regional location data. It also has a customer focussed application called Mappls that allow consumers to take benefit of these accurate mapping.
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS) – MapMyIndia has built Automated Processing Information (API) stacks and Software Development Kits (SDK) that get easily integrated across multiple coding languages. They focus this offering on the B2B and B2B2C segments resulting in 100+ API’s that can be used for Route Management, Store Locator, Search on the go, Live delivery tracking and Sales person tracking. Additionally, MMI plans to broaden the reach of its solutions to new geographic regions with the goal of becoming a globally accessible service.
3. Software as a Service (SaaS) – MapmyIndia offers a range of software solutions for spatial data applications such as geospatial analysis, geographic information systems, Internet of Things, and fleet management. These solutions offer flexible pay-as-you-go pricing to allow for scalability based on evolving needs. The solutions are intended to support applications ranging from connected vehicles to mobility infrastructure planning through a combination of data analytics and mapping capabilities.

Revenue

Revenue has been on an upward trajectory and has been rising from 152.5cr in FY21 all the way upto 281.4cr in FY23 growing at an impressive CAGR of 36% during the period. Additionally the Open order book has grown from 377.5 cr in FY21 to 918cr in FY23 at a CAGR of 56% suggesting there is a lot of orders yet to execute in order for the company to grow its top and bottom line. The entire revenue of the company can be attributed to the Map data and Navigation segment as all the products that are offered are a part of that overarching segment.

Potential problem areas arise as 80% of the revenue of the company is attributable to the top 35 customers. While till now the customer retention has been impressive this could change in the future leading to lower revenues.

Earnings

Similar to revenue the earnings and profitability of the company has been rising steadily, while maintaining Profit after tax (PAT) margins. They have risen from 59.4cr in FY21 to 107.5cr in FY23 while improving on the PAT margin from 31% to 34% suggesting that the company has started moving up the learning curve and achieving economies of scale.

 Cashflow

Operating cash flow jumped from 30.56cr the year before to 99.69cr in FY23, mirroring the stellar year that the stock has had in revenue growth and segment diversification. The increase in cash flow from operations has allowed the company to make investments in start-ups and strategic acquisitions. While also improving the cash balance to 71.28cr.

Perspective 

C.E. Infosystems also popularly known as MapMyIndia is a monopoly in the digital mapping space with policies that protect it from foreign competitors. This company has stuck to its core competencies in being an asset-light company while expanding the use cases for its API offerings. It will continue to see favorable tailwinds and will command a large market share due to their position in a High barrier to entry market and digital assets. 

MapMyIndia will also see a major boost because of the push by the Government of India towards Make in India projects and the Digital India Initiative.

PS: This is not investment advice. Please use this article for informational purposes only and not as financial advice.