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EV maker Ampere’s scale shrinks 46% in FY24; losses multiply 11X

Entrackr · 3d

After achieving two-fold growth in FY22 and FY23, electric vehicle maker Ampere experienced a 46% decline in revenue in FY24, with scooter sales plummeting by nearly 60%. Moreover, the company's losses widened more than 10X, driven by the significant decline in scale. Ampere's revenue from operations decreased to Rs 612 crore in the last fiscal year, from Rs 1,124 crore in FY23, its consolidated financial statements accessed from the Registrar of Companies show. Ampere, a brand under Greaves Electric Mobility, focuses on manufacturing electric scooters and three-wheeled vehicles. In FY24, scooter sales, which contributed 70.5% of the company's total operating revenue, declined by 59% to Rs 432 crore. In contrast, sales of three-wheelers surged 2.5X, reaching Rs 178 crore in the last fiscal year. Ampere also added Rs 2 crore from scrap sales and Rs 29 crore from non-operating activities, tallying the overall revenue to Rs 641 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 1,159 crore in FY23. For the EV maker, the cost of procurement of materials formed 61% of the overall expenditure. To the tune of scale, this cost decreased by 40% to Rs 526 crore in FY24. Ampere hired more workforce in FY24, which resulted in its employee benefits increased by 48.5% to Rs 101 crore. Its advertising, legal, warranty, contracting, and other overhead expenses brought the total cost to Rs 857 crore in FY24, down from Rs 1,172 crore in FY23. For a detailed cost breakdown, head to TheKredible. Caveat: We have excluded the exceptional item amounting to Rs 477 crore for calculating net loss as it is a one-time cost and non-operative. Ampere's deteriorating scale and rising employee benefit costs led to a nearly 11X surge in losses, reaching Rs 215 crore in FY24 compared to Rs 20 crore in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA margins declined sharply to -45.4% and -27.46%, respectively. The company's expense-to-earnings ratio stood at Rs 1.40. At the end of FY24, Ampere reported total current assets of Rs 352 crore, including cash and bank balances of Rs 62 crore. While it is pretty clear that the onslaught from Ola Electric and legacy players like Hero, Bajaj and TVS has put a brake on growth for Ampere, going by the parent firm's plans for an IPO for the mobility division, it does seem to have the backing for the long haul. Would it still be as comfortable if the planned IPO does not happen? That could mean some pretty tough decisions soon, although the firm has the experience and the pedigree to course correct and find a way out of the hole it has dug itself into.