BlueStone FY24: Revenue Surpasses INR 1,000 Cr Mark, Loss Narrows 15% To INR 142.2 Cr

Omnichannel jewellery brand Bluestone managed to narrow its loss by almost 15% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 142.2 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), while its operating revenue surpassed the INR 1,000 Cr mark.

The startup had posted a net loss of INR 167.2 Cr in FY23 on an operating revenue of INR 770.7 Cr. 

BlueStone’s operating revenue surged over 64% YoY to INR 1,265.8 Cr in FY24.

Founded in 2011 by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj, BlueStone earns revenue by selling jewellery online and through its retail stores. It claims to offer over 8,000 designs across a range of jewellery – from rings and pendants to earrings and more.

The startup owns some of its retail stores and operates the rest via a franchise model. It claims to have over 200 retail stores spread across the country.  

It is pertinent to note that in FY22, BlueStone incurred a one-time non-operating expense of INR 1,209 Cr, as a result of which its net loss shot up to INR 1,268.4 Cr in that year. Excluding this one-time expense in FY22, the startup’s net loss had increased 183% YoY in FY23.

BlueStone now seems to have started focusing on improving its top line as well as bottom line ahead of its IPO.

“Company has been successful in growing revenue in existing stores during the year which has resulted in improved margins. The company thus expects further improvement in its cash flow from operations through increase in revenue from its existing as well as new customers,” it said in its filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

Including interest income, BlueStone recorded a total revenue of INR 1,303.5 Cr in FY24 as against INR 787.9 Cr in FY23.

Zooming Into Expenses

With growing sales, BlueStone’s expenses also increased over 51% to INR 1,445.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 955.1 Cr posted in the year before. 

Cost of Materials Consumed: This accounted for 85% of the total spending of the jewellery brand during the year under review. 

BlueStone spent INR 1,234.7 Cr on procurement of raw materials in FY24, an increase of 72% from INR 717.6 Cr in the previous year.

Employee Cost: The startup’s spending towards employee benefit expenses jumped 51.7% to INR 138.4 Cr in the reported year from INR 91.2 Cr in FY23.

In that, BlueStone spent INR 95.6 Cr on salaries and wages in FY24, which grew about 56% YoY. This indicates that the startup likely increased its headcount during the year under review.

Advertisement & Marketing Cost: BlueStone’s spending in this bucket zoomed to INR 124.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 84.1 Cr in the previous year.

BlueStone raised INR 900 Cr from Peak XV Partners, Prosus, Steadview Capital, and others in its pre-IPO round in August, which took its valuation to $970 Mn. 

In June, it also raised INR 100 Cr in debt funding from Neo Markets. 

Overall, BlueStone has raised a total funding of over $200 Mn till date. It counts the likes of Accel, Kalaari Capital, Ratan Tata, Deepinder Goyal, and Nikhil Kamath among its backers.

BlueStone competes with the likes of CaratLane, GIVA, Melorra, and other legacy jewellery brands.

While reports about the startup’s IPO plans have been doing rounds for some time, it is yet to announce the exact timeline for its IPO.