BigBasket’s B2B Arm Trims Losses To INR 1,415 Cr In FY24

SUMMARY

The quick commerce major’s B2B arm reported an operating revenue of INR 10,061 Cr in FY24, up 6% from INR 9,468 Cr in FY23

BigBasket’s B2B arm reined in its expenses during the fiscal, as total expenditure rose a mere 2% YoY to INR 11,515 Cr

The B2B entity’s employee-related costs declined more than 11% to INR 936.5 in FY24 from INR 1,060 Cr in FY23

The B2B arm of Tata-owned quick commerce giant BigBasket, Supermarket Grocery Supplies Private Limited, narrowed its consolidated net loss 20.7% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 1,415.2 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), as it managed to control its expenses.

It had reported a loss of INR 1,785.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the company’s top line crossed the INR 10,000 Cr mark during the year under review. The quick commerce major’s B2B arm reported an operating revenue of INR 10,061 Cr in FY24, up 6% from INR 9,468 Cr in FY23.

It is pertinent to note that the financial results of the B2B entity also include the numbers of BigBasket’s B2C subsidiary, Innovative Retail Concepts Private Limited.

Supermarket Grocery’s subsidiaries include Innovative Retail, Savis Retail Private Limited, Delyver Retail Network Private Limited, and Dailyninja Delivery Services Private Limited.

Founded in 2011 by Hari Menon, VS Sudhakar, Vipul Parekh, VS Ramesh and Abhinay Choudhari, BigBasket started off as a grocery and hyperlocal delivery platform. In 2021, Tata Digital acquired a majority stake in the online grocer.

Under Tata’s tutelage, the platform is now pivoting to the quick commerce model, which it expects to complete by September 2024. Earlier this month, the company also reportedly began work on merging its BBdaily subscription service into its main app as part of its strategy to bolster quick commerce push.

Besides quick commerce, BigBasket has also been experimenting with enterprise tech tools to bolster its deliveries across verticals and help new businesses go online. The startup recently launched a SaaS based supply chain platform BB Matrix to help businesses manage their supply chains for deliveries.

It is pertinent to note that BigBasket operates as an online grocery store, making deliveries in three modes: one day delivery BBDaily, quick commerce vertical BBNow, and Slotted Delivery.

Decoding BigBasket’s Expenses

BigBasket’s B2B arm reined in its expenses during the fiscal as total expenditure rose a mere 2% YoY to INR 11,515 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 2024. In FY23, the company’s total expenses stood at INR 11,284 Cr.

Here is a breakdown of Supermarket Grocery Supplies’ biggest cost centres:

Purchases Of Stock-In-Trade: Expenses under this head rose 4% to INR 8,339 Cr in FY24 from INR INR 8,016 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Employee Benefit Expenses: Employee-related costs declined more than 11% to INR 936.5 in the fiscal ended March 2024 from INR 1,060 Cr in FY23.

Advertising & Promotional Expenses: The B2B arm of BigBasket spent INR 330 Cr on advertising expenses in FY24, a decline of 14% from INR 385 Cr in FY23.

Transportation Distribution Costs: Expenses incurred under this bucket rose more than 8% to INR 785.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 726.1 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 2023.

Cost Technical Services: Expenses under this head rose 14.4% to INR 142.21 Cr during the year under review from INR 124.3 Cr in FY23.

Meanwhile, the B2C arm of BigBasket saw its loss narrow 17% to INR 1,267.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,535.2 Cr in the previous fiscal.