Ola Electric Q1: Loss Jumps 30% YoY To INR 347 Cr, Revenue Up 32%

Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric’s consolidated net loss rose 30% to INR 347 Cr in the June quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q1 FY25) from INR 267 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

However, the recently listed startup’s loss declined nearly 17% from INR 416 Cr in the preceding March quarter.

Operating revenue grew 32% to INR 1,644 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 1,243 Cr in Q1 FY24. On a sequential basis, revenue from operations rose nearly 3% from INR 1,598 Cr. The startup’s earnings were driven largely by the sales of its e-scooters. 

It said that it made the “highest ever deliveries of vehicles” in the quarter, selling 1.25 Lakh units as against 70,575 units in the same period last year.

In a post on X, CEO and founder Bhavish Aggarwal claimed that Ola Electric’s total market share in the E2W market has grown to 49% in the quarter. “e2W industry penetration has shown consistent growth, reaching 7.4% in July. Our premium portfolio is growing, and the launch of the mass segment has resulted in further 77% YoY growth in deliveries,” his post read.

“The increasing scale of operations has benefited the company in the form of lower manufacturing costs and supply chain optimisations. These benefits of scale are further amplified by the company’s scalable platform-based product development and manufacturing technology that results in high degrees of commonality across its products,” Ola Electric said in a statement. 

The company’s revenue from the automotive segment stood at INR 1,644 Cr, while the segment’s EBITDA margin improved 632 basis points to -1.97% during the quarter under review from -8.29% in Q1 FY24.

The quarter also saw the company make a revenue of INR 4 Cr from its cell business, up from the INR 3 Cr in the preceding quarter. Ola Electric said it will integrate its cells in its own vehicles by Q1 FY26.  

The company is currently working on building its gigafactory, “Futurefactory”, in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri to up its production of batteries. Aggarwal said that the Phase 1(a) of Ola Gigafactory has been completed and the company has started production of its cells. He said that the company received BIS Certification in May 2024. 

The company also said that it will launch its electric motorcycle portfolio across mass and premium segments during its flagship event on Thursday (August 15).

Where Did Ola Electric Spend?

Total expenses, including finance costs and depreciation and amortisation expenses, zoomed 32% to INR 2,042 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 1,544 Cr in the year-ago period. It declined a little over 2% from INR 2,087 Cr in Q4 FY24.

Cost Of Materials: The startup’s primary expense continued to be the cost of procurement of materials. It spent INR 1,311 Cr under the head during the quarter under review, up 17% from INR 1,114 Cr in the year-ago quarter. However, on a sequential basis, expense under the head declined 1.1%. 

Employee Expenses: Employee benefit expenses rose to INR 123 Cr during the quarter, up about 9% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 31% YoY. 

Besides, the electric vehicle (EV) startup incurred an exceptional loss of INR 23 Cr in the June quarter of FY25 towards reversal of production linked incentive accrued in the previous financial year. 

“The reversal is consequent to issuance of the final standard operating procedure (SOP) by the Ministry of Heavy Industries in which the period of eligible sales for incentive computation has been amended from application date of DVA/AAT to certification date of DVA/AAT the related underlying products,” the startup said.

Ola Electric made its debut on the bourses last week, listing flat at the issue price of INR 76. However, the stock touched the 20% upper circuit in its first two trading sessions. On Wednesday, the company’s shares ended the trading session 2.4% higher at INR 110.64 on the BSE. It declared its Q1 numbers after market hours.