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IPO-bound Captain Fresh reports Rs 1,300 Cr GMV in FY24; losses up 4.4x

Entrackr · 19d

Captain Fresh is preparing for its IPO and recently secured Rs 100 crore from Motilal Oswal Group. The investment follows a solid financial performance by the company in the previous fiscal year, although the firm has not been able to rein in its losses. Captain Fresh's gross revenue (GMV) increased by 71% to Rs 1,395 crore in FY24 from Rs 817 crore in FY23, according to its consolidated financial statement sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Captain Fresh is a business-to-business seafood marketplace with a farm-to-retail platform for animal protein–fish, seafood, and sheep. The startup procures directly from the agents or farmers and supplies across B2B, B2R, and B2B2C channels. It leverages its bid engine, proprietary quality inspection, and satellite technology, ensuring match-making of demand and supply. The surge in revenue was primarily driven by the sale of products, which contributed Rs 1,385 crore. This represents 99.28% of the total operating revenue. Other operating revenue and sale of services added Rs 8.7 crore and Rs 1.3 crore, respectively. The company made an additional Rs 27 crore from interest income, which pushed its total revenue to Rs 1,422 crore in FY24. On the expenses front, the cost of materials emerged as the largest expense, escalating by 72.5% to Rs 1,311 crore, accounting for 79.55% of the total expenses. Employee benefit expenses saw a significant decline of 32.45%, reducing to Rs 81.6 crore, while legal charges increased by 30.56% to Rs 47 crore. Transportation costs dropped by 24% to Rs 38 crore, and other expenses remained relatively stable at Rs 170.4 crore. Overall, total costs grew by 44.82% to Rs 1,648 crore in FY24 from Rs 1,138 crore in FY23. Captain Fresh's loss spiked by 4.4X to Rs 229 crore in FY24 from Rs 52 crore in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA Margin stood at -22.95% and -12.10%, respectively. On a unit level, the company spent Rs 1.18 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in FY24. The company had current assets worth Rs 1,804 crore, including Rs 148 crore of cash and bank balance in the previous fiscal. According to TheKredible, Captain Fresh has raised a total funding of $176 million to date, with Matrix Partners, Tiger Global, Accel, Prosus, and Ankur Capital as its lead investors. Last year, it also took over three companies: Paris-based shrimp cooker and distributor Senecrus, US-based CenSea, and Poland-based Koral. The new funding appears to be part of a pre-IPO round. As per media reports, the company has appointed Axis Capital and BofA as bankers for a proposed IPO worth $350-400 million. While the increase in costs (and losses) can be attributed to the string of acquisitions and related costs (especially legal costs), Captain Fresh seems to be working to a plan. The biggest risk, of course, remains the main commodity in this case, seafood itself, which has high susceptibility to supply-side shocks due to natural as well as unnatural events like disease outbreaks, etc. However, the broader trends remain in favor of the business as well as Captain Fresh's own prospects, as demand remains steady with an upward bias. The US and European buys should also support margins besides providing better access for products sourced in India, beyond better credibility in India itself. It remains to be seen if 2025 is when the early signs, including profitability at EBITDA or even net profits, become visible.