BWI: Rediff.com Reports Results for the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2010

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Rediff.com (India) Ltd.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 05:31 PM IST (12:01 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy; Business: Banking & financial services, Business services, Financial Analyst, Information technology, Stock exchanges; Technology
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Rediff.com Reports Results for the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2010


Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Wednesday, May 19, 2010 -- (Business Wire India) -- Rediff.com's quarter ended March 31, 2010 global revenues grew 11% compared to the same quarter previous year and 5% on a quarter over quarter sequential basis. India revenues grew 18% for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 compared to the same quarter previous year and 11% quarter over quarter sequentially.

Total registered users grew 15% to 89.5 million compared to the same quarter previous year.

"This past quarter, January- March 2010, has sent signals that the online advertising market in India is starting to recover after nearly three consecutive quarters. Advertisers in the Finance, Education, IT products, Electronics among categories who had stayed away or reduced their online budgets during the past three quarters are now back. This is reflected in our India Online advertisement revenues for the quarter increasing 29% on a year-over-year basis and 15% on a sequential basis. This increase in revenues is despite us foregoing all ads on our home page," said Ajit Balakrishnan, Chairman and CEO, Rediff.com.

In the last two quarters, we took a number of steps to improve the customer experience on our site including removal of ads from our homepage and reduction of intrusive and non-contextual ads on other pages. We are beginning to see the positive impact of these changes reflected in the growth of our unique users.

Rediff.com's unique user base at the end of the year ended March 31, 2010 grew by 17% compared to the same quarter previous year and by 5% on a quarter to quarter sequential basis, in comparison, the Internet market in India grew at a slower pace of 14% in the Year ended March 31, 2010 over the same quarter previous year and 3% on a quarter to quarter sequential basis, as reported by ComScore Media Metrix.

We continue our focus on product development and brand building. We have recently launched our new Rediffmail. Our social media initiative MyPage has quickly gained traction among internet users.

As in the past few quarters, we propose to continue investing 1 to 1.5 million dollars per quarter in the next 2 -3 quarters to maintain the momentum in user growth. In doing this we hope to increase our user base and in turn revenues in the next few quarters.

Our cash balance of $ 44.7 million as of March 31, 2010 ($ 46 million same date last year) allows us to meet our liquidity needs and to execute on our product development and investment strategy.

Further details of Rediff.com's results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2010 are appended in tabular form to this press release. A script of the earnings result conference call held on May 19, 2010 will also be made available on Rediff's Investor Information website at investor.rediff.com.

About Rediff.com

Rediff.com (NASDAQ: REDF) is one of the premier worldwide online providers of news, information, communication, entertainment and shopping services to Indians worldwide. Rediff.com provides a platform for Indians worldwide to connect with one another online. Founded in 1996, Rediff.com is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi, India and New York, USA.

Safe Harbor

Except for historical information and discussions contained herein, statements included in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "project," "anticipate," "continue" or similar terms, variations of those terms or the negative of those terms. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those that may be projected by these forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the slowdown in the U.S. and Indian economies and in the sectors in which our clients are based, the slowdown in the Internet and IT sectors world-wide, competition, success of our past and future acquisitions, attracting, recruiting and retaining highly skilled employees, technology related risks, legal and regulatory policies, managing risks associated with customer products and the wide spread acceptance of the Internet. Readers should carefully review the risk factors and any other cautionary statements contained in Rediff's Annual Report on Form 20-F, as well as other risks detailed in other reports filed by Rediff.com India Limited with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Rediff.com India Limited and its subsidiaries may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and its reports to shareholders. Rediff.com India Limited does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by it or on its behalf, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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CONTACT DETAILS
Mandar Narvekar, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs Contact, Rediff.com (India) Ltd., +91 (22) 24449144 Extension: 138, investor@rediff.co.in

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, Financial Analyst, IT, STOCK EXCHANGES, TECHNOLOGY, REDF.O

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