SaaS Startup Atlan’s Profit Slips 19% To INR 7.74 Cr In FY23

Singapore-based data collaboration software startup Atlan reported a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 7.74 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), a decline of 18.70% from INR 9.52 Cr in FY22. Higher tax expenses in FY23 and an exceptional gain in FY22 led to the decline in PAT during the year under review.

Atlan’s tax expense stood at INR 2.23 Cr in FY23 as against INR 30.01 Lakh in FY22. Meanwhile, the company also recorded an exceptional gain of INR 5.50 Cr in FY22 as it settled the vested option with the employees at a price lower than the fair price at which the liabilities of stock option was created.

The startup, founded in 2018 by Prukalpa Sankar and Varun Banka, allows enterprise teams to collaborate on projects and help create a single source for all data assets on its platform.

Operating revenue rose 189.78% to INR 93.83 Cr from INR 32.38 Cr in FY22, as per Atlan’s filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. As a SaaS platform, the startup earns a majority of revenue from software development and support services.

Overseas revenue accounted for the biggest chunk of operating revenue for the startup during the year under review. Atlan’s revenue from overseas markets almost tripled to INR 92.01 Cr in FY23 from INR 30.11 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, domestic revenue declined to INR 1.82 Cr from INR 2.27 Cr in FY22.

Including other income, total income surged to INR 95.51 Cr from INR 32.50 Cr in FY22.

Zooming Into Atlan’s Expenses

The data collaboration startup’s total expenses jumped 203.45% to INR 85.53 Cr in FY23 from INR 28.19 Cr in FY22.

Employee Expenses Balloon: Atlan spent INR 40.67 Cr on its employees in FY23, a massive 182.72% jump from the INR 14.39 Cr reported in FY22. Most of this expense went into salaries, wages and bonuses, while the startup also paid out INR 3.04 Cr under the employee stock option scheme.

Software Subscription Charges Surge: The startup’s second-biggest expense during FY23 was software charges, as it paid INR 23.34 Cr towards software subscriptions. This was 304.29% higher than the INR 5.77 Cr it paid in the previous financial year.

Advertising Expenses Decline: Atlan spent around INR 3.38 Cr on advertising and other promotional activities during the year ended March 31, 2023, down 62.89% from INR 9.11 Cr in the previous year.

Other Notable Entries: The startup also spent around INR 8.18 Cr on legal and professional services in FY23, 212% higher than the INR 2.62 Cr in the previous financial year. On the other hand, Atlan also reported an increase of 563% in travel expenses to INR 1.79 Cr in FY23 from INR 27.03 Lakh in FY22.

Atlan, backed by the likes of Peak XV Partners, Salesforce Ventures, WaterBridge and Insight Partners, provides integrations with Slack, Snowflake, Redshift, and other data tools to allow for better communication and collaboration within teams. Atlan was incubated while building India’s national data platform, DISHA.

The startup last made headlines during its $50 Mn Series B round last year. Atlan was valued at a post-money valuation of $450 Mn during the round. In all, it has secured around $70 Mn in funding so far.