boAt Clocks INR 3,400+ Cr Revenue In FY23, Smartwatch Sales Grow Over 50%

SUMMARY

Without giving any number, boAt said it reported a loss in FY23 due to its investments in the smartwatch category

The company claimed it is on track to cross INR 4,000 Cr gross revenue in FY24

boAt, which is focusing on manufacturing in India, said it produced 15 Mn units in India in FY23

Imagine Marketing, the parent company of boAt, saw its revenue cross the INR 3,400 Cr mark in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), registering a growth of 20%.

“While the audio business continued its trajectory towards strong top line and bottom-line growth, the overall profitability got impacted due to investments the company made in seeding the smartwatch category and scaling up the Make in India infrastructure,” the company said in a statement.

The company reported a loss due to these investments, however, it didn’t disclose the loss number. In FY22, it reported a net profit of INR 68.7 Cr.

The D2C unicorn said it will file its detailed financial statements for FY23 with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) today.

The New Delhi-based D2C electronics brand also claimed that it is on track to cross INR 4,000 Cr gross revenue this year.

However, it must be noted that in June this year, boAt claimed that its net sales rose to around INR 4,000 Cr (about $500 Mn) in FY23.

According to Sameer Mehta, cofounder and CEO of boAt, the company’s focus on innovation, technology, and ‘Make in India’, along with the government’s efforts to boost domestic production, has paved the way for its long-term growth and profitability.

“Our profitability over the last 3 to 4 years is quite strong despite ahead of the curve investments in both wearables and Make in India infrastructure and FY24 will continue to remain strong like previous years. We are also focused and investing on building a strong talent engine in the organisation and have further strengthened our IT capabilities to drive efficiency,” he added.

The following are some of the key factors which worked in boAt’s favour in FY23:

Growth Across The Board: boAt attributed the rise in its revenue in FY23 to increase in sales of smartwatches, TWS and home audio products. boAt’s revenue from smartwatches grew over 50% year-on-year (YoY) in FY23, while it said TWS and home audio categories saw 35%-40% growth in H1.
Launch Of New Products: In the first half of FY23, the company launched over 50 new products, including the ‘Nirvana Ion’ and ‘Airdopes Flex 454 ANC’. The company claimed that both these products collectively reached INR 350 Cr+ in annual run rate in FY23.
Efficient Utilisation Of boAt Labs: Both Nirvana Ion and Airdopes Flex 454 ANC are made on boAt’s in-house platform developed by a team of over 80 engineers at boAt Labs, the R&D facility of the company. In the last few years, boAt has also made significant investments in ramping up its R&D capabilities.

Founded by Aman Gupta and Mehta in 2015, boAt operates in the larger audio and wearables markets and sells products such as headphones, smart watches and speakers.

The company began making its products in India in early 2022 and claims to have produced more than 30 Mn units to date in India (over 15 Mn units in FY23). boAt said it is working continuously with Indian EMS vendors to streamline the processes and build a high quality manufacturing ecosystem in India.

As part of these efforts, it has entered into a joint venture with Dixon Technologies. The company is also investing heavily in new technologies and product development and is looking to further increase its R&D capacity in the coming years.

Speaking during Inc42’s ‘The D2C Summit 4.0’ earlier this year, Gupta said, “Pre-Covid, 0% of our products were made in India. Cut to 2023, and 70% of our products are now made in India.”

The company has raised a total funding of $177 Mn till date from investors such as Qualcomm Ventures, Warburg Pincus, InnoVen Capital, Navi Technologies, and Fireside Ventures.