DroneAcharya’s Profit Soars To INR 3.97 Cr In H1 FY24, Revenue Surges 998%

Pune-based drone startup DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations reported a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 3.97 Cr in the first half (H1) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), a massive increase from INR 13.09 Lakh (0.13 Cr) in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

DroneAcharya released its financial numbers for the second time on Friday (October 27) after its public listing on the BSE SME exchange in December 2022. In FY23, the startup posted a PAT of INR 3.42 Cr.

DroneAcharya’s operating revenue shot up 998% to INR 20.89 Cr in H1 FY24 from INR 1.9 Cr in the year-ago period. The startup attributed this increase to the growth in its drones and defence technology business and its recent foray into the spacetech sector. 

In a statement, DroneAcharya said it is now aiming to become a platform agnostic deeptech data science company.

Including other income, the startup’s total revenue grew to INR 21.96 Cr in H1 FY24 from INR 1.90 Cr a year ago.

In line with the increase in revenue, expenses also surged over 9X to INR 16.62 Cr in H1 FY24 from INR 1.73 Cr in H1 FY23. 

Employee benefit expenses grew to INR 2.57 Cr during the period under review from INR 1.01 Cr a year ago. The company spent INR 12.13 Cr on other expenses in H1 FY24 as against INR 58.88 Lakh (0.58 Cr) in  H1 FY23.

Founded by Srivastava in 2017, DroneAcharya offers an array of drone solutions for multi-sensor drone surveys, pilot training, and data processing, among others. The startup forayed into drone manufacturing earlier this year. It partnered with Gujarat-based robotics company Gridbots Technologies for commercial production, assembly, and export of drones and associated products from July 2023.

“Through our franchises and partners, we are set to expand our reach and solutions not only across India but also globally. Our performance in terms of revenue marks a strong base for our team’s capabilities and bandwidth to take on more challenging projects in the years to come,” Prateek Srivastava, founder and managing director of DroneAcharya, said. 

It must be noted that DroneAcharya signed a franchise agreement with Wollstone Capital SA last month to open 30 remote pilot training organisations (RPTOs) across the country.

“We have a vision to become India’s first platform agnostic deeptech data science company. Achieving this, we will not be limited to only drones but will be able to provide data intelligence and services coming from various platforms positioned aerially, in space, underground and underwater,” Srivastava added.

In the spacetech space, DroneAcharya said it is all set to make a debut as a system integrator in CubeSat and NanoSat technologies.”These platforms enable localised capture and determining different orbital paths, making them more mobile and versatile as compared to the conventional large satellites, while at the same time being cost-effective and time efficient,” it said.

DroneAcharya got listed on the BSE SME platform last year at a 90% premium to its issue price of INR 54 apiece, despite the lull in the equity markets. 

Shares of the company ended Friday’s trading session 1.53% higher at INR 196.10.