Bhavish Aggarwal-Led Ola Electric Posts Loss Of INR 784 Cr In FY22

Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric saw its net loss almost quadruple to INR 784.1 Cr in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) from INR 199.2 Cr in FY21. 

However, the numbers for FY22 are not comparable with those of FY21 as the electric vehicle (EV) startup began delivering its escooters only from December 2021.

Operating revenue stood at INR 373.4 Cr in FY22. The startup primarily earns revenue through the sale of its escooters. 

The startup generated INR 348.2 Cr through sale of products in the financial year ending on March 31, 2022, while it earned INR 19.7 Cr through sale of its services.

On the expenses front, total expenditure stood at INR 1,240.4 Cr in FY22 as against INR 305.4 Cr in the previous fiscal. Cost of material consumed was the biggest contributor to the startup’s expenses. In FY22, the startup spent INR 584.9 Cr on purchase of items. Expenses under this head stood at zero in the previous fiscal year. 

Ola Electric spent INR 282.4 Cr on employee benefit expenses in FY22, a 43.2% increase from INR 197.2 Cr in the previous year. Employee benefit expenses mostly comprises employee salaries, PF contributions, and employee welfare contributions, among others. 

Marketing expenses stood at INR 49.4 Cr in FY22 as compared to INR 1.5 Cr in FY21. It also spent INR 44.1 Cr on legal professional charges in FY22, a 60% increase from INR 27.5 Cr in FY21. 

Founded in 2017, Ola Electric entered the celebrated unicorn club within two years of its launch after raising $250 Mn from Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank. 

The startup launched its S1 and S1 Pro in August 2021. The EV unicorn had initially scheduled the live sale on September 8, 2021 but later delayed it to September 15, 2021 due to a technical glitch. 

As per a media report, the startup recorded an operating loss of $136 Mn (about INR 1,116 Cr) and revenue of $335 Mn (about INR 2,750 Cr) in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), missing its publicly disclosed revenue goal.

Earlier, Ola Electric claimed to have surpassed INR 500 Cr in revenue in the first two months of FY23 and said it was on track to exceed $1 Bn in run rate by the end of the year.