Exotel Narrows Loss By 60% To INR 43 Cr In FY24

SUMMARY

Exotel trimmed its EBITDA loss to INR 15.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 81.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year

Operating revenue grew 6% year-on-year to INR 444.5 Cr in FY24

Founded in 2011, Exotel provides internet-enabled communication services, enabling businesses to drive their customer engagement

Bengaluru-based cloud telephony and communications startup Exotel narrowed its net loss by more than 60% to INR 43.3 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 109.4 Cr in the previous year on the back of improvement in its EBITDA margin and reduced expenses.

The Blume Ventures-backed company reported modest business growth with its operating revenue rising 6% to INR 444.5 Cr during the year under review from INR 419.6 Cr in FY23.

Including other income of INR 15.5 Cr, total revenue grew 3% year-on-year to INR 460 Cr in FY24.

The A91 Partners-backed startup trimmed its EBITDA loss to INR 15.6 Cr in the year ended March 31, 2024, from INR 81.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

EBITDA margin improved 15 percentage points to -4% in FY24 from -19% last year. Exotel's EBITDA Margin Improves To -4%

Founded in 2011 by Shivakumar Ganesan, Ishwar Sridharan, Siddharth Ramesh, and Vijay Sharma, Exotel offers products that allow companies to make and receive phone calls over the Internet instead of traditional telephone lines.

The company primarily earns revenue from internet-enabled communication services.

Other revenue channels include the income generated via software licensing, chatbot services, and the sale of products such as APIs, browser extensions, software development kits, and mobile apps.

Exotel competes in the cloud phone market against legacy players like Tata Communications, as well as new-age tech startups, such as Gupshup-owned Knowlarity, MyOperator, and Ozonotel, among others.

Earlier this year, Exotel rolled out an AI-driven solutions suite, the House of AI, eyeing a revenue growth of 50% by 2025.

The company last raised $40 Mn in a Series D funding round led by Steadview Capital in 2022.

A Closer Look At Exotel’s FY24 Expenses

Despite growth in its topline, Exotel managed to bring down its overall expenses by 10% to INR 498.8 Cr during the year under review from INR 555.5 Cr in FY23. Exotel Narrows FY24 Loss By 60%

Employee Benefits Expense: The cloud telephony startup reported a 24% decline in its employee benefits expense to INR 186.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 244.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Miscellaneous Expenses: The spending under this head rose 15% to INR 41.1 Cr during the year under review from INR 35.8 Cr a year ago.

Miscellaneous expenses included hosting charges, payment gateway charges, licence fees, software subscription charges, and data centre costs, among others.

Telephone & Postage Expense: Exotel spent INR 195.4 Cr under this bucket in FY24, 10.5% higher than INR 176.8 Cr it spent in the previous fiscal year.