Jumbotail’s FY23 Loss Surges 112% To INR 264 Cr Despite Doubling Sales

Bengaluru-based B2B food and ecommerce marketplace Jumbotail’s net loss more than doubled during the year ended March 31, 2023. The startup’s loss surged 112% to INR 264.16 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 124.74 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The bottom line took a hit despite revenue from operations jumping 117% to INR 819 Cr from INR 377.36 Cr in FY22.

Founded in 2015 by S Karthik Venkateswaran and Ashish Jhina, Jumbotail offers a suite of go-to-market services for brands looking to reach the kirana market. It runs an online B2B marketplace for groceries and food and primarily caters to wholesale buyers.

How Did Jumbotail Make Money In FY23?

Being an ecommerce marketplace, the startup primarily earns revenue from the sale of products. It also earns revenue from the sale of services via its omnichannel retail brand J24, which integrates offline kirana stores and helps them sell both online and offline.

The startup also gets service income via its Golden Eye retail operating system, a cloud-based retail POS Operating System.

During the year under review, Jumbotail earned INR 766.59 Cr from the sale of products, an increase of 117% from INR 351.74 Cr in FY22. Revenue from services shot up 105% to INR 52.42 Cr in FY23 from INR 25.61 Cr a year ago.

Including other income, total income rose to INR 849.87 Cr from INR 398.85 Cr in FY22.

Where Did The Startup Spend In FY23?

In line with the rise in its top line, Jumbotail’s total expenses zoomed 113% to INR 1,114.04 Cr in FY23 from INR 523.60 Cr in the previous year. 

Purchase Of Stock Expenses Shot Up: Purchase of stock-in-trade accounted for the biggest chunk of expenses. The startup spent INR 760.99 Cr under the head in FY23, almost double that of INR 352.29 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Employee Benefits Expenses Doubled: Jumbotail’s employee costs grew to INR 101.51 Cr in the year ended March 31, 2023, from INR 52.34 Cr in FY22. 

The sharp increase indicates that the startup may have increased its headcount during the year. The startup spent INR 82.31 Cr on wages in FY23, up 84% from INR 44.69 Cr in the previous financial year.

Distribution Costs Jump: In line with its business, the transportation and distribution costs incurred by Jumbotail also saw significant growth. During the period under review, the startup spent INR 60.44 Cr on transportation, up 108.76% from the INR 28.95 Cr it recorded in FY22.

Ad Spend Increases: The startup spent INR 17.11 Cr on advertisements and other promotional activities, up nearly 90% compared to the INR 9.16 Cr it spent during FY22. 

The startup’s EBITDA margin contracted to -9.83% in FY23 from -9.26% in FY22. On a unit economic basis, Jumbotail spent INR 1.36 to earn every INR 1 in FY23.

Earlier this year, during its INR 75 Cr debt round, Jumbotail said it planned to achieve operational profitability in the next 12 months. 

In a statement, Jumbotail said it is now aiming to expand its retailer base to about 4 Lakh and reach over 80% penetration in the addressable market in FY24. Currently, Jumbotail claims to have 2.5 Lakh+ retailers across 50+ cities. The startup also said it is looking to double its operating revenue and increase the number of J24 stores to 300 stores in FY24.

Jumbotail competes with the likes of Udaan and BigBasket. It has so far raised a total funding of around $139 Mn in equity and debt from investors, including Kalaari Capital, Invus, Heron Rock, VII Ventures, Nexus Ventures, Arkam Ventures, Alteria Capital, and Innoven Capital.

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