News on Medial

Related News

ShareChat’s revenue grows 33% in FY24 to Rs 718 Cr

EntrackrEntrackr · 7m ago
ShareChat’s revenue grows 33% in FY24 to Rs 718 Cr
Medial

Mohalla Tech, the parent entity of the vernacular social media platform ShareChat and short video entertainment app Moj, has registered 33% year-on-year growth during the fiscal year ended March 2024. Its adjusted EBITDA loss also plummeted by 67% in the same period. According to the company's press release, Mohalla Tech’s revenue from operations increased to Rs 718 crore in FY24 from Rs 540 crore in FY23. Revenue from live streaming contributed 56% of the company's total operating income, which grew by 41.4% to Rs 403 crore in FY24. Advertising accounted for the remaining share, which saw a 23.5% year-on-year growth to Rs 315 crore in FY24. ShareChat also added a non-operating income of Rs 29 crore mainly from interest and gain on financial assets which tallied the overall revenue to Rs 747 crore in the last fiscal year. For the social media firm, server cost was the largest cost center in FY24. As per Sharechat’s chief financial officer Manohar Charan, the firm managed to reduce this cost by 50% in FY24. Sharechat has managed to reduce its employee benefits cost by 17% to Rs 580 crore in FY24. This includes Rs 126 crore as ESOP (non-cash). Its advertising, legal, travel, and other overheads took the overall operating expenses to Rs 1540 crore in FY24 from Rs 3119 crore in FY23. In calculating the overall cost, we have excluded all non-cash components, including interest, provisions, foreign exchange (FX) losses, depreciation, and ESOP expenses for both FY24 and FY23. The 33% growth and controlled server cost helped Mohalla Tech to reduce its adjusted EBITDA losses by 67% to Rs 793 crore in FY24 from Rs 2400 crore in FY23. Notably, the net consolidated losses of the firm stood at Rs 1,898 crore in FY24 down from Rs 5,143 crore in FY23. Backed by the likes of Temasek Holdings, Google, Twitter, The Times Group, Tiger Global, Snap, Lightspeed, and Elevation Capital, ShareChat claims to have more than 325 million monthly active users (MAUs) across all its platforms. Its short video app Moj boasts a monthly active user base of nearly 160 million. The company recently expanded its debt round to $65 million, with a $16 million infusion from Singapore-based EDBI. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, ShareChat has raised around $1.8 billion. However, it saw a major haircut in valuation to less than $2 billion from $5 billion during its last fundraise in June 2022. As part of its mid-year performance cycle, the company also let go of 5% of its workforce in August this year. In 2023, ShareChat implemented several cost-cutting measures and laid off 700 employees across two phases.

ShareChat raises $16 Mn additional debt; lays off 5% employees

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
ShareChat raises $16 Mn additional debt; lays off 5% employees
Medial

Mohalla Tech, the parent entity of the vernacular social media platform ShareChat and short video entertainment app Moj, has expanded its debt round to $65 million with $16 million latest infusion from Singapore-based EDBI. In April, ShareChat had raised around $49 million in debt from existing investors including Temasek, Lightspeed, HarbourVest, Moore Strategic, Rimco and Alkeon. The company also saw its valuation nosedived to less than $2 billion from $5 billion during its last fundraise in June 2022. The additional funds will be utilized for advertising company’s tech stack and expand the consumer transactions businesses with investment in newer monetization features, ShareChat said in a press release. A Moneycontrol report also said that ShareChat has let go of 5% of its workforce as a part of its mid-year performance cycle. In 2023, the firm put several cost-cutting measures and sacked 700 employees across two phases. “…some employees are impacted on the basis of performance. This accounts for less than 5% of our workforce. We have a number of open positions and we continue looking for high quality talent across functions,” said a company spokesperson. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, ShareChat has raised around $1.8 billion from investors including Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent, among others. ShareChat claims that the app is operationally profitable for the past several months, while the Moj app is close to operating break-even. Both apps cater to over 325 million users. While the Ankush Sachdeva-led firm is yet to file its FY24 financials, it spent nearly Rs 4,000 crore in FY23 to earn Rs 533 crore in revenue. Overall, it recorded Rs 3,241 crore loss in FY23. The surge in losses was primarily due to the write-off undertaken by the company for the acquisition of Moj’s competitor MxTakaTak. ShareChat spent nearly $700 million via cash and stock to acquire the Times Internet-backed company.

ShareChat adds fresh ESOPs worth $123 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
ShareChat adds fresh ESOPs worth $123 Mn
Medial

Mohalla Tech, the parent entity of the vernacular social media platform ShareChat and short video entertainment app Moj, has added fresh employee stock option (ESOP) options for its employees under its existing ESOP plans. The development occurred shortly after the announcement of raising $49 million in debt from existing investors. The board at ShareChat has approved a special resolution to add 260,000 employee stock options to its existing plan, bringing the total ESOP pool to 846,300 options, its regulatory filing accessed through the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. Importantly, every 100 stock options will be converted into one (1) equity share at a later date decided in the agreement. The objective of expanding the ESOP pool is to promote employee ownership as well as to attract, retain, and motivate talents. As per Fintrackr’s estimates, the newly added ESOPs are worth Rs 1,017 crore or $123 million while the value of the total ESOP pool stood at Rs 3,310 crore or $400 million. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, ShareChat has raised around $1.8 billion from investors including Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent, among others. Despite mopping up close to $2 billion, the company wasn’t able to show substantial revenue as of FY23. Struggle in monetization led to a steep fall in valuation which stood at less than $2 billion in the recent bridge round. The firm was valued at $5 billion during its last fundraise in June 2022. During the last fundraise, it also announced to double the ESOP ownership for all of its current employees. During FY23, ShareChat had to spend nearly Rs 4,000 crore to earn Rs 533 crore in revenue. On a unit level, the firm spent Rs 7.16 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in the last reported fiscal. This was one of the highest expense-to-revenue ratios for a unicorn in FY23.

Google-backed ShareChat raises $49 Mn debt

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Google-backed ShareChat raises $49 Mn debt
Medial

Mohalla Tech, the parent entity of the vernacular social media platform ShareChat and short video entertainment app Moj, has raised around $49 million in debt from existing investors. The company has passed a board resolution to issue 4,895 Series I debentures at an issue price of $10000 each to raise $49 million, regulatory filing with RoC shows. Existing investors including Temasek, Lightspeed, HarbourVest, Moore Strategic, Rimco and Alkeon invested in the debt round. Inc42 reported the development first. The fresh funding comes at a time when ShareChat was looking to raise $50 million in a down round to the tune of $1.5 billion. The firm was valued at $5 billion during its last fundraise in June 2022. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, ShareChat has raised around $1.8 billion from investors including Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent, among others. ShareChat has been eyeing a large equity round but the company is finding it difficult to rope in new and existing backers. It also put several cost-cutting measures and laid off 700 employees across two phases in 2023. The company’s struggle is largely driven by its inability to monetise from the user base which has low-purchasing power. Even after nine-year of its operations, ShareChat had to spend nearly Rs 4,000 crore in FY23 to earn Rs 533 crore in revenue. On a unit level, it spent Rs 7.16 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in the last fiscal. This is one of the highest expense-to-revenue ratios for a unicorn in FY23. The surge in losses was primarily due to the write-off undertaken by the company for the acquisition of Moj’s competitor MxTakaTak. The company spent heavily ($700 million via cash and stock) to acquire the Times Internet-backed company. While ShareChat has almost no competition after the blanket ban on China-origin apps like Bytedance-owned Helo, its short video app Moj competes with Dailyhunt’s Josh, YouTube Shorts and Instagram.

FarEye spent Rs 361 Cr to earn Rs 139 Cr in FY23

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
FarEye spent Rs 361 Cr to earn Rs 139 Cr in FY23
Medial

SaaS-based logistics management platform FarEye showcased a modest 42% year-on-year growth during the fiscal year ended March 2023 but the firm’s losses worth Rs 243 crore flattened from the previous fiscal year but remained high. FarEye’s revenue from operations grew 41.8% to Rs 139 crore in FY23 from RS 98 crore in FY22, its consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) show. FarEye provides software solutions to manage large logistics platforms’ supply chain and delivery across manufacturing, e-commerce et al. The sale of logistics services was the sole source of revenue for the company. Besides operating activities, the $150 million round helped FarEye to make Rs 27 crore from interest on investments (non-operating) which took its total collection to Rs 166 crore in FY23. Like other technology startups, its employee benefits accounted for 61.2% of the overall expenditure. This cost grew only 8% to Rs 251 crore in FY23 from Rs 232 crore in FY22. Its information technology, traveling, legal-professional, advertising, repair, rent, and other overheads catalyzed the FarEye’s overall expenditure to Rs 410 crore in FY23 from Rs 361 crore in FY22. FarEye’s prudent expense management helped the Microsoft-backed firm to register a mere 4.7% increase in its losses to Rs 243 crore in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin stood at -60% and -142.2%, respectively. On a unit level, FarEye spent Rs 2.95 to earn a rupee in FY23. FY22-FY23 FY22 FY23 EBITDA Margin -176% -142.2% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹3.68 ₹2.95 ROCE -36% -60% FarEye’s total current assets stood at Rs 438 crore including current investments and cash/bank balance during FY23. FarEye has raised over $150 million across rounds and was valued at $400 million in its last fundraiser. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, TCV is the largest stakeholder with 13.74% followed by Elevation Capital. As per Fintrackr estimates, its enterprise value to revenue multiple was 21X at the end of FY23. While there are firm indications that the firm has turned, or is close to turning the corner as far as margin improvement goes, Fareye’s backers would know that much could go wrong from here as well. With FY24 over, the firm would have done well to not only maintain the growth rate from FY23, but also keep expenses in control as it did previously. Any major slip up here will lead to serious questions about it’s long term viability, leading to an adverse impact on the existing business sooner than later.

Unnati Agri crosses Rs 500 Cr revenue in FY24; losses widen marginally

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
Unnati Agri crosses Rs 500 Cr revenue in FY24; losses widen marginally
Medial

Unnati Agri continued its growth momentum by crossing the Rs 500 crore revenue mark in the fiscal year ending March 2024. While its losses increased by 14% year-on-year, they remained under control during the same period. Unnati Agri’s revenue from operations increased by 30% to Rs 515 crore in FY24, from Rs 397 crore in FY23, according to its financial statements sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Unnati enables farmers to buy agri-inputs and sell produce directly to food processors and agribusinesses, generating 99% of its revenue from these transactions. It also offers pre- and post-harvest services along with working credit through a unified platform. On the expense side, material costs remained dominant at 88% of total expenses. These costs rose 27% to Rs 469 crore in FY24 from Rs 370 crore in FY23. Discount charges, tied to incentives and promotions, more than doubled to Rs 31 crore from Rs 15 crore. Employee benefits increased to Rs 15 crore, and other expenses rose to Rs 18 crore. Overall, the Orios Venture-backed firm’s total expense increased by 29% to Rs 533 crore in FY24 from Rs 412 crore in FY23. Despite the top-line growth, the company’s losses slightly widened to Rs 16 crore in FY24 from Rs 14 crore in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA stood at -17.19% and -2.03%, respectively. On a unit basis, the company spent Rs 1.03 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in FY24. Unnati’s total assets rose to Rs 144 crore in FY24, with current assets reaching Rs 141 crore. As of March 2024, the firm held Rs 34 crore in cash and bank balances, offering a liquidity buffer. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Unnati Agri has raised approximately $14 million in funding till date, having NABVENTURES and VSS Investco as its lead investors. Its co-founders, Amit Sinha and Ashok Prasad together own 44.6% of the company.

BillDesk records Rs 2,678 Cr revenue in FY23; profits fall 5%

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
BillDesk records Rs 2,678 Cr revenue in FY23; profits fall 5%
Medial

B2B fintech company BillDesk seems to have lost its momentum in the past couple of years as it fell short of securing a double-digit growth in FY23. Moreover, profits also reduced 5.1% in the fiscal year ending March 2023. BillDesk’s revenue from operations grew 9.6% to Rs 2,678 crore during FY23, as per the company’s consolidated financial statements with the Registrar of Companies. BillDesk charges fees for the processing and settlement services of electronic transactions — and collections from these services accounted for more than 70% of the total operating revenue in FY23. It also generated a significant part ~10% of its revenue from loyalty programs for its clients while the remaining part came from the sale of products (PINS and e-top-up subscriptions) and other operating activities during the last fiscal year. Furthermore, it also earned Rs 87.15 crore via interest and gain on financial assets (non-operating income), taking the overall revenue to Rs 2,765 crore in FY23. As per the startup intelligence platform TheKredible, BillDesk spent the most on technical services (bank fees and service charges) which formed 83.8% of the total expenditure. This cost went up 9.3% to Rs 2,146 crore during FY23 from Rs 1,963.6 crore in FY22. Employee benefits expenses increased 35.4% to Rs 245 crore during the last fiscal year from Rs 181 crore in FY22. The company’s burn on data, communication, legal, and information technology catalyzed its total expenses by 11.6% to Rs 2,561 crore in FY23. Head to TheKredible for the complete expense breakdown. Coming to the bottom line of the company, its profits shrank marginally (5.1%) to Rs 141.91 crore in FY23 against Rs 149.6 crore in FY22. Followed by the rising expenses and reconciliation in profits, BillDesk’s operating cash flows turned negative to Rs -121.63 crore in FY23. In FY22, it recorded a positive cash flow of Rs 39.83 crore. On a unit level, BillDesk spent Re 0.96 to earn a rupee of operating revenue during FY23. The company’s EBITDA margin and ROCE also worsened to 9.23% and 7.75% during the same period. FY22-FY23 FY22 FY23 EBITDA Margin 10.21% 9.23% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹0.94 ₹0.96 ROCE 8.81% 7.75% BillDesk competes with Razorpay, Infibeam Avenues, and PayU among other payment gateways. Razorpay saw a 54% growth in scale to Rs 2,279 crore in FY23 along with Rs 7.2 crore profit whereas Infibeam Avenues posted Rs 1,962 crore revenue and Rs 136 crore profit during FY23. In October 2022, PayU called off BillDesk’s acquisition after 14 months of signing the agreement due to the non-fulfillment of certain conditions. It would have been one of the biggest deals in India’s fintech space.

Download the medial app to read full posts, comements and news.