Milk Mantra Back In The Black With INR 9.8 Cr Profit In FY24, But Growth Remains Muted

Bhubaneswar-based dairy tech startup Milk Mantra returned to profitability in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) with a net profit of INR 9.8 Cr as against a net loss of INR 12.3 Cr in the previous fiscal, as it managed to control its expenses.

After eight consecutive years of profitability, the startup slipped into loss in FY23 on an operating revenue of INR 272.9 Cr, a growth of only 2% year-on-year (YoY).

It continued to face difficulties in growth in FY24 as well. Its revenue from operations rose a mere 1.3% YoY to INR 276.4 Cr. 

Meanwhile, its net profit in FY24 also fell short of INR 13.6 Cr profit it posted in FY22.

Founded in 2009 by Srikumar Misra and Rashima Misra, Milk Mantra began its operations in 2012. The startup sells products under two brands – Milky Moo and Moo Shake. It sells packaged milk, curd, paneer, lassi, mishti dahi, and flavoured milkshakes

While two product categories – pasteurised milk and curd – continued to see growth in revenue, other products witnessed sales degrowth in FY24.

Pasteurised milk was the biggest revenue source, generating sales of INR 167.4 Cr in FY24. This was an increase of about 3% from INR 162.6 Cr in FY23.

Revenue from curd saw the highest jump among the other products, rising over 10% YoY to INR 65.7 Cr in FY24.

However, revenue from cottage cheese declined 5.5% YoY to INR 27.2 Cr, while buttermilk and lassi products saw a 27.5% YoY decline in sales to INR 3 Cr. 

Milk Mantra’s revenue from ghee slumped 57% to INR 26 Lakh in FY24 from INR 61 Lakh in the previous year.

Revenue from traded goods sold, which include cattle feeds and breakfast items, raw milk, and milk powder, declined to INR 12.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 17.1 Cr in FY23.

In fact, its milk powder revenue was nil in FY24 as against INR 2.8 Cr the previous year, which indicates that the startup might have discontinued its sales. 

Including other operating revenue like scrap sales and non-operating revenue, Milk Mantra’s total income stood at INR 279.2 Cr in the reported fiscal as against INR 277.2 Cr in FY23.

What About Expenses?

Milk Mantra’s total expenses fell a little over 7% to INR 269.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 289.5 Cr in the previous year, helped by a sharp decline in major operating costs related to materials and procurement of raw materials.

Cost of Materials Consumed: The startup spent INR 192.8 Cr in this bucket in the reported year, which was a decline from INR 207.4 Cr in FY23.

It had INR 6.2 Cr of raw materials inventory at the beginning of the year. Its spending on new purchases of raw materials increased 1.3% YoY to INR 192.3 Cr.

However, when adjusted together, the total raw material cost declined 7.2% YoY to INR 185.3 Cr.

Meanwhile, the total cost of packaging materials also fell almost 5.1% YoY to INR 7.6 Cr in FY24.

Purchases Of Stock-In-Trade: Milk Mantra spent INR 11.5 Cr under this head, which included cattle feed and raw milk, during the year as against INR 13.3 Cr in FY23.

Employee Cost: The dairy startup’s employee benefits expenses rose 1.6% to INR 18.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 18.6 Cr in the previous year.

Though its spending towards salaries, wages and bonuses saw a slight decline during the year, Milk Mantra spent more towards other employee benefits, including ESOPs.

Freight & Forwarding Charges: Milk Mantra’s expenditure in this bucket declined over 10% YoY to INR 13.4 Cr in FY24.