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FirstCry FY24 revenue crosses Rs 6,500 Cr; GlobalBees contributes 18.6%

Entrackr · 3m

Kids-focused omnichannel retailer FirstCry received approval for its initial public offering (IPO) from the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) earlier this month. Ahead of the IPO, the company has disclosed its annual financial report for the fiscal year ending March 2024. The Pune-based firm’s revenue grew 15.1% in the last fiscal year but its losses shrank 34% during the same period (FY24). FirstCry’s revenue from operations increased to Rs 6,481 crore in FY24 from Rs 5,633 crore in FY23, its consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) show. The sale of its products through its offline stores and website was the primary source of revenue for FirstCry in FY24. Notably, its subsidiary GlobalBees has contributed Rs 1,209 crore income to FirstCry group. FirstCry earned Rs 94 crore from interest on fixed and current investments and other financial assets, tallying its overall revenue to Rs 6,575 crore in FY24. For the omnichannel retailer, the cost of procurement of materials accounted for 60.3% of the overall expenditure which increased 18.8% to Rs 4163 crore in FY24 from Rs 3,504 crore in FY23. Its employee benefits, advertising, transportation, contracts, rent, legal, traveling, and other overheads took FirstCry’s overall cost up by 9.2% to Rs 6,897 crore in FY24 from Rs 6,316 crore in FY23. Check TheKredible for the detailed cost breakup. The decent growth and controlled expenditure helped FirstCry to reduce its losses by 34% to Rs 321 crore during FY24 as compared to Rs 486 crore in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin improved to -3.47% and 2.51%, respectively. On a unit level, the Supam Maheshwari-led firm spent Rs 1.06 to earn a rupee in FY24. FY23-FY24 FY23 FY24 EBITDA Margin -3.82% 2.51% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹1.12 ₹1.06 ROCE -8.67% -3.47% As per reports, FirstCry will seek a valuation in the range of $2.9-3 billion in its upcoming IPO which may start around Independence day (August 15). Besides FirstCry, another SoftBank-backed company Ola Electric is all set to launch its IPO in early August. Notably, both firms are in losses as of their last reported financial year (FY24). In seeking a valuation that is a three to four times multiple of revenues, FirstCry has tempered down expectations. But what will worry some investors is the fact that it is still making negative margins, even though breakeven seems a matter of a quarter or two. The kids category, while being competitive is also one category where the value add from manufacturer to eventual customer is massive, and for FirstCry to struggle despite largely controlling the distribution channel is surprising, to say the least. It indicates some serious issues with procurement, or a high cost structure ripe for some trimming. Pre-IPO is as good a time as any to identify the key issue.