BigBasket FY24: B2C Arm’s Loss Narrows 17% To INR 1,267 Cr, Revenue Grows 6%

Tata-owned BigBasket’s B2C arm, Innovative Retail Concepts, posted a 17% decline in its net loss to INR 1,267.2 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 1,535.2 Cr in the previous fiscal, partially helped by its controlled expenses.

The online grocery retailer’s operating revenue saw about a 6% rise to INR 7,884.5 Cr during the year from INR 7,439.7 Cr in FY23, with revenue from the sale of traded products continuing to be the largest contributor.

BigBasket clocked INR 7,609.6 Cr in revenue from the sale of traded products, which included household and grocery products, as against 7,175.2 Cr in FY23. 

Meanwhile, its advertisement income increased a mere 0.5% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 230.7 Cr in FY24. Licence fees income remained flat, while rental income more than doubled to INR 11 Cr. BigBasket earns its rental income from operating leases on its vending machines.

Revenue from services stood at INR 256.8 Cr in FY24, which was an increase of 4.6% YoY. 

The company’s revenue from BB Star membership fees was included in revenue from services in FY24 filing and not mentioned separately.

It also saw INR 9.1 Cr coming in from two new revenue sources – commission Income and technology services income. The technology services income was generated from Tata Group’s Infiniti Retail, while commission income came from Tata 1mg Healthcare Solutions Private Limited.

It is pertinent to note that in 2021, Tata Digital Limited, a 100% subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Limited, acquired a majority stake in BigBasket’s holding company Supermarket Grocery Supplies Private Limited. In December 2022, Tata infused further capital in BigBasket.

BigBasket’s income from scrap sales declined 5.5% YoY to INR 18.1 Cr during the year.

Zooming Into Expenses

Total expenses rose a mere 2% to INR 9,185.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 8,997.6 Cr in the previous fiscal.

Purchases Of Stock-In-Trade: It continued to be the biggest contributor to overall expenses. The startup’s spending under this head saw a 3.4% rise to INR 6,260.9 Cr during the year under review from INR 6,053.4 Cr in FY23.

Employee Benefit Expenses: BigBasket cut its employee cost by 9.6% to INR 827.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 915.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

In that, INR 659.3 Cr was spent towards salaries and wages, which fell from about INR 690 Cr in FY23.

Training Recruitment Expenses: The company’s spending in this bucket fell by a massive 70% YoY to INR 2.1 Cr.

Ad Expenses: BigBasket’s advertising and promotional expenses declined 14.2% to INR 329.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 384.7 Cr the previous fiscal year. 

Transportation Cost: The startup spent INR 738.9 Cr under this head during the year under review as against INR 681.6 Cr in FY23.

Amid the rising popularity of quick commerce, BigBasket has also set its eye on the rapidly growing segment. It is planning to merge BBdaily subscription service into its main app in the coming months as part of the strategy to strengthen its position in quick commerce.