MS Dhoni-Backed HomeLane’s FY22 Loss Surges 1.5X To INR 153 Cr

Home interior startup HomeLane’s standalone net loss zoomed 1.49X to INR 153.05 Cr in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) from INR 102.38 Cr in FY21 as its expenses rose in line with the growth in its business.

The MS Dhoni-backed home interior startup’s operating revenue grew 1.55X to INR  426.13 Cr from INR 275.69 Cr in the previous year. 

It earned INR 425.55 Cr from sale of services like interior designing, home renovation, among others. Total income rose to INR 431.25 Cr from INR 278.04 Cr in FY21.

Meanwhile, the startup’s expenses grew 1.54X to INR 584.3 Cr in FY22 from INR 380.42 Cr in FY21. 

Cost of materials consumed accounted for the biggest chunk of expenses for HomeLane. It spent INR 332.27 Cr on this in FY22 as against INR 211.89 Cr in the previous year. Under this, HomeLane procured woodwork, components and accessories worth INR 188.51 Cr in FY22.

Besides, it spent around INR 28.17 Cr on design costs, INR 23.28 Cr on contract manufacturing charges and INR 92.08 Cr on installation and allied costs.

HomeLane’s promotional expenses more than tripled during the period under review, rising to INR 70.34 Cr from INR 23.17 Cr in FY21. Employee benefits expenses rose marginally to INR 119.4 Cr in FY22.

From a unit economics perspective, HomeLane spent INR 1.37 to earn every INR 1 from operations in FY22.

On a consolidated basis, the startup reported a total income of INR 431.83 Cr while net loss stood at INR 150.77 Cr during the year ended March 31, 2022.

Founded in 2014 by Rama Harinath, Srikanth Iyer and Vivek Parasuram, HomeLane offers personalised end-to-end interior services. The startup claims to have created a community of over 20,000+ customers across 10 Indian cities.

It has raised more than $113 Mn across 10 funding rounds so far from investors such as Sequoia India, Accel, JSW Ventures, Mohandas Pai and MS Dhoni. HomeLane last raised a funding of $50 Mn in its Series D round in September 2021. Earlier this year, HomeLane was reported to have fired around 30-40 employees.

The startup competes with the likes of unicorn LivSpace and Kraftinn. Earlier this year, LivSpace fired more than 100 employees as part of a cost-cutting exercise, as its net loss jumped 1.5X to INR 645.2 Cr in FY22 from INR 416 Cr in FY21. While its sales jumped to INR 570 Cr, expenses ballooned to INR 1,215 Cr in FY22.