Meta India’s Ad Revenue Jumps 74% To INR 16,189 Cr In FY22

Posting record numbers, Facebook India Online Services reported gross advertisement revenues of INR 16,189 Cr in financial year 2021-22 (FY22), up 74% year-on-year (YoY) from INR 9,326 Cr in FY21. 

The company’s net profit also grew 132% YoY to INR 297 Cr during the fiscal year ended March 2022. In comparison with FY20 when its net profit stood at INR 136 Cr, the company’s net profit surged 118% showing the growing adoption of online ad services by companies and startups alike.

In total, Facebook India Online Services paid an equalisation levy of INR 907 Cr to the government on gross ad revenues in FY22. 

As per regulatory filings, Meta India’s total income in FY22 stood at INR 2,324 Cr. A breakdown of the data revealed that the net advertiser reseller revenue hovered around INR 889 Cr, the cost of IT-ITES services stood at INR 1,420 Cr, while income from other sources was pegged at INR 15 Cr.

Overall, the cost of ad inventory for Meta India was pegged at around INR 15,120 Cr. It is this ad space that Facebook India purchases from Meta Platforms Inc USA, and then subsequently, sells to its Indian customers with certain markup. 

This spurt has largely been the result of the growth driven by Instagram’s short video service, Reels, which has catapulted Meta’s ad revenues to newer heights in the country.

The digital ad space continues to be dominated by Google and Meta, accounting for more than 70% of the total market. While Google generates a bulk of its revenue from the search market, Meta accounts for a big share of its revenue from the social media platforms it owns including Facebook and Instagram.

The resurgent ad numbers from India come even as the global parent Meta Platforms’ revenue fell 0.8% YoY to $28.82 Bn in Q2 CY22, compared to $ 29.07 Bn during the same period last year.

India continues to be one of the fastest growing digital ad markets in the world, generating a revenue of INR 24,600 Cr in 2021. This number is projected to soar to INR 40,300 Cr by 2024, largely on the back of industries such as banking, financial services and insurance experimenting with non-traditional media platforms.

The growing penetration of the internet and the rise of the influencer economy has also enabled these tech giants to target the smaller sections of the population.

Many digital native platforms and major FMCG also have also adopted digital ad campaigns to woo their user base.

With precision advertising, these digital ad campaigns largely target the intended users with a specific set of ads, based largely on parameters set by the advertisers.