BharatPe Turns EBITDA Positive In Oct, Annualised Revenue Crosses INR 1,500 Cr

Peak XV-backed BharatPe claims to have turned EBITDA positive in the month of October. The startup said that its annualised revenue has crossed INR 1,500 Cr in FY24, a 31% increase from FY23.

The Delhi NCR-based fintech unicorn attributed this feat to the consistent growth across all of its business lines and was able to significantly cut down its EBITDA burn — which was averaging INR 60 Cr per month in FY23 — to attain EBITDA positivity.

BharatPe’s lending vertical, in the month of October alone, has facilitated loans exceeding INR 640 Cr for its merchants in partnership with its NBFC, demonstrating a 36% year-on-year jump as compared to FY22. The startup has facilitated loans worth INR 12,400 Cr since its foray into the lending business in late 2019.

Besides lending, another revenue avenue for the fintech startup – SoundBox –in the month of October witnessed a monthly total payments volume (TPV) of INR 14,000 Cr.

The five-year old fintech also launched Swipe Android, a PoS device that offers multiple modes for digital payment acceptance, including debit/credit cards, UPI, mobile wallets and QR codes, in August this year.

Besides this, the startup, in late 2021 also forayed into the BNPL segment with the launch of postpe, which it claims has over 8 Mn downloads. In the same month, the startup was also granted a Small Finance Bank (SFB) licence by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Earlier this year, the startup further received an in-principle nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator. 

Nalin Negi, CFO, and the interim CEO of BharatPe on the future prospect of BharatPe added, “…..In the coming months, we’ll focus on scaling our lending, POS, and soundbox businesses. We will also focus on launching new products tailored for our merchant partners while concentrating on the development of our consumer and NBFC businesses.”

The improvement in the startup’s financials could be viewed as a quick turnaround job by the startup’s top management who have been battling on multiple fronts since early last year. 

The startup has been involved in a long public feud with its now-ousted CEO Ashneer Grover.  BharatPe has been embroiled in a publicised legal battle with Grover since then. 

Besides this, the startup continues to see key exists. From Suhail Sameer, who took over the CEO role after Grover left to the latest being Ankur Jain, the Chief Product Officer at the fintech giant, several key figures who were at the helm of the startup have quit further accentuating the troubles brewing at the top brass. Almost a year ago, the startup’s cofounder Bhavik Kodaliya resigned from his role, leaving Shasvat Nakrani, the only remaining cofounder in the firm. 

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