IPO-Bound MobiKwik Turns Profitable In FY24, Revenue Surges 62% To INR 875 Cr

IPO-bound fintech unicorn MobiKwik turned profitable in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), posting a net profit of INR 14.1 Cr as against a net loss of INR 83.19 Cr in the previous fiscal year on the back of strong business growth.

The fintech startup’s revenue from operations zoomed 62% to INR 875 Cr during the year under review from 539.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Founded in 2009 by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku, MobiKwik is a digital banking platform that offers a suite of financial products for both consumers and merchants. It earns revenue by offering online checkout, Kwik QR scan and pay, MobiKwik Vibe (Soundbox), MobiKwik EDC Machine, merchant cash advance, among other services, to businesses and merchants.

Including other income, the startup’s total income rose 59% to INR 890.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 561.1 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Zooming Into Expenses

The fintech unicorn’s total expenses rose over 37% to INR 876.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 641.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Other expenses, including payment gateway costs, lending operation expenses, and advertising and promotional expenses, continued to account for the largest portion of expenditure.

Payment Gateway Cost: MobiKwik spent INR 270.3 Cr on payment gateway in FY24, a whopping 295% increase from INR 68.5 Cr in FY23.

Lending Operation Expenses: The startup spent INR 201.7 Cr under the head during the year under review, an increase of 29% from INR 156.7 Cr in FY23.

Employee Benefit Expenses: Employee costs increased 18% to INR 116 Cr in FY24 from INR 98.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Advertising & Promotional Expenses: The startup spent INR 109.8 Cr on advertising promotional expenses during the year under review, an increase of 23% compared to INR 89 Cr in FY23.

Earlier this year, MobiKwik refiled its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

The Delhi NCR-based startup is aiming to raise up to INR 700 Cr through a fresh issue of shares. The IPO will not include any offer for sale (OFS) component.

It is worth noting that MobiKwik has reduced its IPO size by nearly 63% from the INR 1,900 Cr it aimed to raise when it first filed its DRHP in 2021. At that time, the startup planned to raise INR 1,500 Cr from a fresh issue of shares and INR 400 Cr via OFS. However, it postponed its IPO plans due to volatile market conditions.

However, the bullish investor sentiment in the markets have led to a resurgence in startup IPOs this year. While the likes of Go Digit, Ola Electric, FirstCry, Awfis, Unicommerce have made their public market debut this year, a number of other new-age tech startups are also looking to go public over the coming months.