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Urban Company turns profitable with Rs 7 Cr PBT in April

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Urban Company turns profitable with Rs 7 Cr PBT in April
Medial

Urban Company has turned profitable at PBT level (profit before tax) on a consolidated basis in the last month, said two sources aware of the firm’s financial numbers. The development will potentially smoothen its public listing plan which is likely to happen in the second half of next year (2025). “Urban Company’s India business has been EBITDA profitable since October-November 2022,” said one of the people cited above requesting anonymity. “But on a consolidated basis, the firm posted a little over Rs 7 crore in profit before tax (PBT) in April 2024.” As for the firm’s India unit—which is more than 90% of its business—it recorded over Rs 11 crore PBT in April. “Urban Company has also achieved breakeven in the UAE but it is incurring losses in Singapore and Saudi region as these two markets are new,” said the person mentioned above. The profitability in April indicates that Urban Company has been able to cut losses by over two-third in FY24. “The company’s losses for the last fiscal stood under Rs 100 crore,” said another person who also requested anonymity. The 10-year-old company posted a loss of Rs 308 crore against revenue of Rs 637 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2023. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Urban Company also reduced its losses by 40.1% in FY23 as compared to FY22. Queries sent to Urban Company didn’t elicit any response. Urban Company is a home services and beauty salon marketplace with a presence across over 30 cities in India along with operations in some foreign markets. The Gurugram-based company joined the unicorn club in June 2021 with a valuation of over $2 billion but the company hasn’t raised any primary money in the past three years. In December 2021, it bought back employee stocks (ESOPs) at a valuation of $2.8 billion. While plans for an IPO are usually a red flag when a sudden improvement in financials is observed, in Urban Company’s case, the improvement has been long in coming with a series of changes the firm has been making over the years. Be it white label or own label products, service contracts to ensure predictable cash flows, focus on repeat users and better management of partner relationships, the firm has been seen to be at work. Seen as a barometer for the state of blue collar gig economy in India, the firm will continue to find itself in the cross hairs of critics in case of any misstep, but credit has to be given for a long and sustained effort to thrash out a business out of it all. The international ventures remain a question, considering the widely different conditions and laws in each market, but in India at least, the numbers will just be the icing on the cake that seems ready for a taste test in the capital markets.

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Urban Company announces ESOP secondary sale worth Rs 203 Cr for 446 employees

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Urban Company announces ESOP secondary sale worth Rs 203 Cr for 446 employees
Medial

Home service marketplace Urban Company has announced its largest employee stock secondary sale worth Rs 203 crore (nearly $25 million). This is the fifth ESOPs buyback wherein 446 employees have participated, according to the company’s press statement. As per Urban Company, beneficiary employees are between 23 and 56 years old, with 28% of beneficiaries being women. This sale will give the company’s employees an opportunity to liquidate their vested stocks. Dharana Capital (an offshoot of existing investor Vy Capital), along with existing investors Vy Capital and Prosus will be purchasing these shares from former and current staff. To date, Urban Company has granted ESOPs to 1,593 employees and around 784 of them participated in five buybacks, liquidating ESOPs worth Rs 306 crore ($37 million). The Abhiraj Bhal Singh-led company did its last ESOP liquidity program in December 2021 at a valuation of $2.8 billion. The company did not disclose the valuation of the latest buyback. However, Entrackr’s sources outline that the fresh buyback is happening at a valuation of around $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion. Just ahead of the fourth buyback, Urban Company achieved unicorn status in June 2021. It hasn’t raised any external capital since then. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Urban Company posted a revenue of Rs 637 crore in FY23 and managed to reduce its losses by 40.1% during the fiscal year. The buyback of ESOPs came a month after it turned profitable at PBT (profit before tax) level. On a consolidated basis in April, the company posted PBT of Rs 7 crore. Entrackr had exclusively reported the development earlier this month. The company also expects its operations in UAE to become profitable in the coming months. As per sources, Urban Company is preparing for a public listing which is likely to happen in the second half of next year (2025).

Urban Company posts Rs 1,144 Cr revenue and Rs 28.5 Cr PBT in FY25

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
Urban Company posts Rs 1,144 Cr revenue and Rs 28.5 Cr PBT in FY25
Medial

Home services marketplace Urban Company recorded a 38.2% year-on-year revenue growth to Rs 1,144 crore during the fiscal year ended March 2025 (FY25), according to its annual report. The company also swung to profitability in FY25 from a significant loss in FY24. Urban Company claims to have completed 6.8 million annual customer transactions across 17 super categories in 51 cities with a total net transaction value of Rs 3,115 crore (India+International). Urban Company offers a wide range of home services, including spa and salon treatments, AC repairs, electrical work, painting, wall panel installations, pest control, and more. It also generates revenue through the sale of its water purifier (native) and products sold to service professionals. Platform services continued to be the largest revenue driver for Urban Company, contributing 64.8% of its total operating income, which rose 32.5% to Rs 742 crore in FY25. Revenue from customer memberships grew marginally by 7.7% to Rs 98 crore. On the product sales front, the company saw a sharp 300% jump in revenue from its native water purifier, which surged to Rs 116 crore in FY25 from Rs 29 crore in FY24. The remaining Rs 188 crore came from product sales to service professionals. Of its total operating revenue, Rs 997 crore was generated from India, including the sale of water purifiers, while the remaining Rs 147 crore came from its international operations. It also added Rs 117 crore from interest and profits from the sale of mutual funds, which tallied the overall income to Rs 1,261 crore in FY25 from Rs 928 crore in FY24. Employee benefits emerged as the largest cost center for Urban Company in FY25, accounting for 28.6% of the total expenditure. This expense remained flat at Rs 350 crore, which includes a non-cash ESOP cost of Rs 72.5 crore. Spending on advertising and business promotion also held steady at Rs 207 crore during the year. Other cost heads, including materials, professional incentives, freight, payment gateway charges, outsourced support, and overheads, pushed the company’s total expenditure to Rs 1,223 crore in FY25, up from Rs 1,021 crore in FY24. According to its annual report, Urban Company’s India consumer services segment posted a profit of Rs 113 crore in FY25. However, its native water purifier vertical and international operations reported losses of Rs 38.7 crore and Rs 33.7 crore, respectively. The year-on-year growth, coupled with controlled expenditure, particularly in employee benefits and advertising, helped Urban Company to post a PBT (profit before tax) of Rs 28.5 crore in FY25, compared to a loss of Rs 92.7 crore in FY24. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin improved to a positive 2.46% and 6.68%, respectively, in FY25. On a unit level, it spent Rs 1.07 to earn a rupee of operating revenue. By the end of FY24, the company’s total current assets were recorded at Rs 1671 crore, with cash and bank balances of Rs 590 crore. Urban Company is set to launch its initial public offering (IPO). In April, the company filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise Rs 429 crore (approximately $50 million) through a fresh issue and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 1,471 crore. Urban Company, once enjoying a relatively uncontested market, is now facing growing competition from emerging startups such as Snabbit and Pronto. Meanwhile, Swiggy has also entered the on-demand professional services segment with its offering, Pyng.

Traya posts 236 Cr revenue in FY24; turns profitable

EntrackrEntrackr · 6m ago
Traya posts 236 Cr revenue in FY24; turns profitable
Medial

Traya recorded over threefold year-on-year growth, with its revenue crossing Rs 230 crore during the previous fiscal year ending March 2024. Moreover, with this pace, the Mumbai-based company became profitable in the same period. Traya’s revenue from operations surged 3.8X to Rs 236 crore in FY24 from Rs 61 crore in FY23, its annual financial statements sourced from the Registrar of Companies show. Established in 2019, Traya focuses on addressing hair loss at its core by identifying the underlying causes. It provides personalized hair solutions and guidance from a team of experienced hair coaches and physicians. Income from product sales accounted for 99.36% of Traya's total operating revenue, which rose to Rs 234.5 crore in FY24, up from Rs 61 crore in FY23. The rest income came from courier services and doctor consultation fees. Moving on to the expense part, marketing and sales accounted for 43% of the overall expenditure. This cost grew twofold to Rs 98 crore in FY24 from Rs 51 crore in FY23. To the tune of scale, the cost of procurement of materials surged 3.6X to Rs 54 crore in FY24. Traya’s employee benefits also saw a 4X surge to Rs 36 crore in FY23. Other overheads including freight, legal, and travelling increased the overall cost by 154% to Rs 229 crore in FY23 from Rs 90 crore in FY23. The 3.8X growth in scale enabled Traya to achieve a notable profit of Rs 9 crore in FY24, a stark contrast to the Rs 28 crore loss in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin improved to 8.7% and 5.04%, respectively. On a unit basis, the company spent Rs 0.97 to earn a rupee in FY24. Traya's total current assets recorded at Rs 159 crore, with a cash balance of Rs 85 crore at the end of the previous fiscal year. According to startup-data intelligence platform TheKredible, Traya has raised approximately Rs 96 crore to date, including Rs 75 crore in funding from Xponentia Capital in April this year. The company counts notable investors such as Fireside Ventures, Kae Capital, Xponentia Capital, and Whiteboard Capital.

Urban Company concludes $63 Mn secondary led by Dharana Capital

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Urban Company concludes $63 Mn secondary led by Dharana Capital
Medial

Vy Capital’s offshoot Dharana Capital has bought $50 million worth of secondary shares from employees, early investors and founders. Significantly, this transaction is a part of a $63 million secondary round in which Prosus also participated. This transaction also includes $25 million ESOP buyback from employees in May this year, said a company’s top official to Entrcakr. Following the secondary transaction, Vamsi Duvvuri, founder and managing partner of Dharana Capital, will also join the board of Urban Company as a non-executive director, as per the fund’s press statement. Dharana Capital is an India-focused fund which has backed several startups including Zopper, Lentra, NoBroker and Itilite. To date, Urban Company has granted ESOPs to 1,593 employees and around 784 of them participated in five buybacks, liquidating shares worth Rs 306 crore ($37 million). Urban Company concluded its last ESOP liquidity program in December 2021 at a valuation of $2.8 billion. As per Entrackr’s sources, the new buyback happened at a valuation of around $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion. As per startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Urban Company posted a revenue of Rs 637 crore in FY23 and managed to reduce its losses by 40.1% during the fiscal year. The company also turned profitable at profit before tax level in April. Importantly, it also claimed to have achieved profit at PBT level in June quarter of FY25. Urban Company currently operates in 62 cities across India, the UAE, Singapore, and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The company has a partner network of over 55,000 hand-picked service professionals.

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