Policybazaar Parent’s FY22 Net Loss Up Over 4.5 Times To INR 833 Cr

PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, reported a 454% increase in its net loss to INR 832.91 Cr during the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) from INR 150.24 Cr in FY21, primarily due to a sharp rise in its expenses. 

The listed startup’s revenue from operations rose 60% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 1,424.89 Cr. It also reported a significant jump in other income, reaching INR 125.38 Cr in FY22, up 77% from INR 70.75 Cr in FY21.

In all, the listed startup’s total income stood at INR 1,550.27 Cr for FY22, up 62% from the INR 957.41 Cr it reported in FY21.

However, PB Fintech saw its total expenses rise steeply by 116% during the year to reach INR 2,383.63 Cr from INR 1,099.93 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

While employee benefits expenses rose 127% to INR 1,255.54 Cr, advertising and promotional expenses soared 135% to INR 864.45 Cr.

In terms of quarterly results, PB Fintech narrowed its loss by 26% to INR 219.60 Cr in the quarter ended March 2022 from INR 298.01 Cr in the preceding December quarter. 

Its total income grew 47% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to INR 591.16 Cr, while expenses rose 16% QoQ to INR 811.26 Cr in Q4 from INR 698.81 Cr in Q3 FY22.

Founded in 2008 by Yashish Dahiya, Alok Bansal and Avaneesh Nirjar, Policybazaar is an online platform that allows users to buy insurance policies, including health insurance, vehicle insurance, life insurance, and so on. On the other hand, Paisabazaar allows users to access their credit scores, along with aggregating financial products such as credit cards.

PB Fintech reported a 46% YoY growth in insurance premiums at INR 6,975 Cr in FY22. Meanwhile, credit disbursal more than doubled to INR 6,607 Cr during the year from INR 2,917 Cr in FY21. 

In an investor presentation, the company said that Policybazaar held a 93% market share in the online policy aggregators segment, with 58.9 Mn registered customers and 26.4 Mn policies sold.

Policybazaar’s parent company went for an INR 5,625 Cr IPO in November 2021. After a strong IPO response and market debut, the company’s shares tumbled in an almost universal rout of new-age tech startup shares.

PB Fintech’s shares closed 2.33% higher at INR 685 on the NSE on Saturday (May 28).

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