Logistics Unicorn Shiprocket Slips Into The Red; Reports Loss Of INR 93.1 Cr In FY22

Logistics unicorn Shiprocket slipped into the red in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), reporting a consolidated loss of INR 93.1 Cr due to doubling of its expenses. The startup had posted a profit of INR 12.5 Cr in FY21. 

Shiprocket, which acquired several businesses in FY22, including Wigzo, Rocketbox, and Glaucus, saw its operating revenue jump 1.7X to INR 611.1 Cr in FY22 from INR 358 Cr reported in FY21, according to the regulatory filing of its parent entity Bigfoot Retail Solutions.

In fact, Shiprocket’s FY22 consolidated results also include the performance of Glaucus, Wigzo, and Logibricks.

As one of the logistics majors that claims to handle over 200K daily shipments across over 220 countries, Shiprocket earns a majority of its revenue from its shipping, technology, fulfilment, and warehousing services.

The startup’s total revenue, including its non-operating and interest incomes, stood at INR 634.4 Cr in FY22 as against INR 365 Cr in the previous year.

Founded in 2017 by Saahil Goel, Vishesh Khurana, Gautam Kapoor, and Akshay Gulati, Shiprocket functions as an aggregator of third-party logistics companies and works with over 17 courier partners including the likes of Delhivery, FedEx, Aramex, Xpressbees, DTDC, Shadowfax, and others. 

The startup had bagged new investments in two rounds in FY22. In December last year, it confirmed raising $185 Mn in a Series E round co-led by Zomato, Temasek, and Lightrock India. Prior to that, in July, it got a fresh infusion of $41.3 Mn from PayPal Ventures and some existing investors including Bertelsmann India Investment, Info Edge Ventures, and more.

With the fresh funds flowing in, Shiprocket’s expenses more than doubled to INR 727.8 Cr in FY22 from INR 350.7 Cr in the previous year.

Its cost of materials consumed, which largely includes various packaging products, increased 80.7% to INR 518.9 Cr in FY22. It contributed a whopping 71% to Shiprocket’s total expenses during the period.

Meanwhile, employee benefit expenses surged 188.7% to INR 122.6 Cr from INR 42.5 Cr in FY21. The major cost in this bucket was associated with increased spending on salaries and wages.

Shiprocket’s expenses on employee stock option scheme and employee stock purchase plan (ESOPs) also jumped significantly to INR 31.8 Cr in FY22 from INR 12.2 Lakh in FY21.

Besides, the SaaS-based logistics startup also saw a 16.7X jump in its legal professional charges, spending INR 43.5 Cr in FY22 as against INR 2.6 Cr in the prior fiscal year.

Shiprocket’s expenditure on provision for bad debts increased to INR 5.6 Cr in the reported year from INR 5.1 Cr in FY21.

Amid the growth in the country’s ecommerce market and the rise in competition in the logistics space, Shiprocket increased its spending on advertising and promotional activities. It spent INR 1.8 Cr on advertising and promotional expenses in FY22 as against INR 10.6 Lakh in FY21.

Prior to turning a unicorn in August this year after raising $32 Mn, Shiprocket acquired 80% stake in its competitor Pickrr in a $200 Mn deal. Some of the startup’s other competitors include Shipyaari, ClickPost, among others.

As a company that powers shipping and fulfilment needs of SMEs, D2C retailers, and social commerce sellers in India, Shiprocket currently has a significantly large field to play in, particularly with the rise in D2C brands in the country. Some of its current D2C clients include the likes of Mamaearth, mCaffeine, and Bodycare.