Ola Consumer’s FY24 Loss Declines 57% To INR 329 Cr

SUMMARY

The decline in loss came on the back of a sharp 42.28% reduction in employee benefit expenses

Ola Consumer’s parent ANI Technologies saw its operating revenue slip 5.48% YoY to INR 2,011.9 Cr in FY24

Ola Consumer said its EBITDA (excluding discontinued operations) grew to INR 271 Cr during the year from INR 87 Cr in FY23

IPO-bound Ola Consumer’s parent ANI Technologies reported a 57.46% decline in its consolidated net loss to INR 328.5 Cr in the financial year (2023-24) from INR 772.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The decline in loss came on the back of a sharp 42.28% reduction in employee benefit expenses.

While the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company managed to trim its loss, its top line also took a hit during the year under review. ANI Technologies’ operating revenue slipped 5.48% to INR 2,011.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 2,128.5 Cr in FY23.

The decline in revenue came amid rising competition in the ride-hailing industry, with the likes of Rapido and BluSmart taking a significant market share.

Ola Consumer earned about 92% of its revenue from the ‘sale of services’ segment in FY24.

In a statement, the company said that its EBITDA (excluding discontinued operations) grew to INR 271 Cr during the year from INR 87 Cr in FY23.

According to its regulatory filing, the company discontinued the business of providing sales and services support for electric scooters during the year under review. This was done before Ola Electric’s IPO in August 2024.

According to Inc42’s calculations, the company’s EBITDA loss stood at INR 34.3 Cr in FY24 as against an EBITDA loss of INR 371 Cr in FY23. EBITDA margin improved 15 percentage points to -2% from -17% in FY23.

This comes at a time when the company is eyeing a public listing. In November last year, it changed its name from ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd to ANI Technologies Ltd.

If the IPO materialises, Ola Consumer will become the second company founded by Aggarwal to go public. In August 2024, his electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ola Electric made its debut on the stock exchanges.

ANI Technologies has 21 subsidiaries, including OLA Fleet Technologies, OLA Financial Services, OLA Capital Services, OLA Stores Technologies, Geospoc Geospatial Services, among others.

Last year, Aggarwal said that Ola Consumer will launch a number of new services like Ola Coin, UPI, dark stores, fulfillment centres, among others.

The company provides food delivery services on ONDC, and has recently begun piloting 10-minute food and grocery delivery in Bengaluru.

Where Did Ola Consumer Spend?

The company’s expenditure for FY24 declined 16.3% to INR 2,106.7 Cr from INR 2,516.7 Cr in FY23.

Employee Benefit Expenses: Ola Electric’s expenses under this head declined 42.3% in the year under review to INR 333.8 Cr from INR 578.3 Cr in FY23, largely due to layoffs.

In January 2023, the Ola group fired about 200 employees across Ola Consumer, its financial services arm, and Ola Electric.

Following this, the company fired about 200 employees in a restructuring exercise in April 2024.

Marketing Expenses: Ola Consumer’s marketing and advertising expenses surged 163.55% to INR 107.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 40.6 Cr in FY23.

Commission Paid To Other Selling Agents: The spending under this head stood at INR 74.7 Cr. It spent nil amount on it in the previous fiscal year. This expense likely pertained to the company’s business of sale of insurance policies and providing vehicle financing via OLA Financial Services.