Rapido’s Loss Widens Over 50% To INR 674.5 Cr In FY23, Sales Jump 3X

Ride-hailing startup Rapido reported a 53.6% widened standalone loss of INR 674.5 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) against INR 439 Cr reported in the previous fiscal year, hurt by a sharp jump in employee costs during the period.

Rapido’s bottom line was hurt despite its operating revenue rising more than threefold to INR 443 Cr during the year under review from INR 144.8 Cr in FY22.

Founded in 2015 by Rishikesh SR, Pavan Guntupalli, and Aravind Sanka, Rapido earns a majority of its revenue from providing auto and bike taxi services. It also offers peer-to-peer delivery services via Rapido Local. With a fleet size of 5 Mn bike taxis and 7 Lakh auto-rickshaws, the startup claims to operate in over 100 Indian cities and have over 25 Mn app downloads.

The startup categorised its income into three heads — revenue from delivery services, subscription income, and marketing income. However, it did not give a segment wise breakdown of its income. 

Including interest income and other non-operating income, Rapido’s total revenue increased 214.9% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 497.5 Cr in FY23.

It must be noted that Rapido raised $180 Mn in FY23 in a funding round led by Swiggy, with participation from TVS Motors, WestBridge Capital, Nexus Ventures, and Shell Ventures. Though the startup was involved in legal battles in different states due to the bans on bike taxi services, its business continued to expand during the year under review. 

Last month, Rapido also started cab operations to take on giants like Ola and Uber.

Zooming Into Expenses

Rapido’s total expenditure jumped 96.3% to INR 1,172.1 Cr in FY23 from INR 597 Cr in the previous year.

The startup said that during the year, it increased its spends on marketing campaigns, technology infrastructure cost, and support cost to fuel the growth and improve the user experience in the app. 

Meanwhile, employee costs single-handedly contributed over 17% of the total expenses.

Employee Benefit Expenses: The startup’s employee costs jumped 93.3% to INR 206.8 Cr in the reported period from INR 107 Cr in FY22. 

It spent INR 165.4 Cr on salaries and wages, a sharp 68% YoY rise.

On the other hand, its other employee-related expenses, most likely ESOP expenses, jumped over 498.2% YoY. Rapido had spent INR 5.8 Cr towards ESOPs in FY22.

Ad Expense: Rapido’s advertising promotional expenses increased 36% to INR 240.3 Cr in FY23 from INR 176.7 Cr in the previous year. It alone contributed 20.5% to the startup’s total expenses during the period. 

Legal Professional Charges: Amid the ongoing legal issues, the startup’s total expense in the bucket also jumped 95.4% YoY to INR 10.8 Cr in FY23.

During the year under review, Delhi’s transport department banned aggregators like Rapido, Uber and Ola from operating bike taxis. Following this, Rapido approached the Delhi High Court. 

Miscellaneous Expenses: Including infrastructure and software charges, support services cost, and payment gateway charges, among others, Rapido spent a massive INR 695.7 Cr in FY23 in this bucket as against INR 293.4 Cr the previous year.