BharatPe FY25: Loss Narrows 82% To INR 88 Cr

SUMMARY

The fintech unicorn’s operating revenue rose nearly 17% to INR 1,667 Cr in the fiscal under review as against INR 1,426.1 Cr in FY24

The fintech giant managed to trim its expenses by 3.5% to INR 1,906 Cr during the fiscal under review as against INR 1,974.4 Cr in FY24

This comes a month after BharatPe CEO Nalin Negi told Inc42 that the company minted a profit before tax of INR 6 Cr in FY25, excluding ESOP expenses

Fintech unicorn BharatPe slashed its net losses by 82% to INR 88.2 Cr in the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) compared to INR 492 Cr in the year ago fiscal.

The improved numbers came on the back of growing operating revenue, which rose nearly 17% to INR 1,667 Cr in the fiscal under review as against INR 1,426.1 Cr in FY24.

Including other income of INR 67 Cr, BharatPe’s total income for FY25 stood at INR 1,733.6 Cr as against INR 1,486 Cr in FY24.

The financial statements come a month after BharatPe CEO Nalin Negi claimed profitability on an adjusted basis in FY25. Speaking with Inc42 in August, Negi said that the company minted a profit before tax of INR 6 Cr, excluding ESOP expenses.

At this time, he attributed the turnaround to the merchant lending driving growth, reduced credit disbursal costs and a “continuous decline” in non-performing assets and bad loans.

Notably, in the period under review, the company incurred INR 148.5 Cr in ESOP expenses, 18.8% higher than previous fiscal’s INR 125 Cr.

The company had a one-time exceptional gain of INR 72.6 Cr during the fiscal year under review. “The parent company entered into a settlement agreement with a shareholder and certain other parties during the year ended on March 31, 2025. In lieu of resolving all outstanding disputes, amongst other terms of the settlement agreed between the parties, the shareholder transferred certain shares to a trust settled by the parent company,” BharatPe said in the filing.

This most likely refers to the dispute between BharatPe and its former MD Ashneer Grover. In September 2024, BharatPe and Grover reached a definitive settlement, ending their prolonged legal and public dispute over allegations of financial misconduct and governance issues. As part of the agreement, Grover was to transfer a portion of his shares to a newly created trust, the Resilient Growth Trust, which would sell the shares and channel the proceeds to BharatPe.

The fair value of these shares was booked as the exceptional item in BharatPe’s accounts. As per the agreement, Grover’s remaining shares were to be managed by his family trust.

Founded in 2018, BharatPe offers UPI payments, bill payment services and also facilitates loans in partnership with NBFCs. The fintech unicorn provides a technology platform and various digital services to its users and earns revenue from transaction and service fee, and allied payments. It acts as a lending services provider for its financing partners and also provides digital services to its merchants.

It has raised nearly $850 Mn in funding to date and counts the likes of Peak XV, Ribbit Capital, Beenext, among others, as its investors.

The FY25 numbers also come amid multiple developments at the unicorn in the past few months. While it acquired a payment aggregator licence from the RBI in April, the company also bagged INR 125 Cr in a debt round co-led by Neo Group and Trifecta Capital.

Earlier this month, a few Gujarat-based family offices also acquired a 2.6% stake in the fintech startup via secondary deals for INR 179 Cr.

Zooming Into BharatPe’s Expenses

The fintech giant managed to trim its expenses by 3.5% to INR 1,906 Cr during the fiscal under review as against INR 1,974.4 Cr in FY24.

Employee Benefit Expenses: The startup spent INR 360 Cr on its employees, including salaries, wages and incentives. This was nearly 7% higher than INR 336.6 Cr in employee expenditure in FY24.

Transaction Processing Charges: Expenses under this bucket rose nearly 8% to INR 390.7 Cr in FY25 compared to INR 362 Cr in FY24.

Financial Guarantee Costs: Expenditure under this header zoomed 189% to INR 240 Cr in the fiscal under review compared to INR 83 Cr in the year ago period.

Outsourced Service Expenses: The startup spent INR 239.7 Cr towards outsourcing various facets of its operations in FY25, down nearly 6% from INR 254.7 Cr in the year ago fiscal.

Advertising & Marketing Expenses: The startup culled its promotional expenses by a hefty 88% to INR 26.2 Cr in FY25 from INR INR 162.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year.