ShareChat’s FY24 Operating Revenue Jumps 33%

ShareChat posted a 33% year-on-year (YoY) operating revenue growth for the financial year ending March 2024 (FY24), reaching INR 718 Cr, up from INR 540 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

The Bengaluru-based company also saw its adjusted EBITDA losses dropping by 67% to INR 793 Cr from INR 2,400 Cr in FY23.

Notably, the company has two revenue generating streams, i.e., advertising and livestreaming. Notably, the company’s advertising revenue rose 23% YoY to INR 315 Cr. Growth in advertising was fueled by diversification across FMCG and mid-market advertisers. 

Meanwhile, ShareChat’s livestreaming segment saw a 41% YoY growth, reaching INR 402 Cr, driven by an increase in paying users on both ShareChat and Moj platforms.

The company claims to have achieved EBITDA profitability in October 2024, with a margin exceeding 15%. 

This was attributed to revenue growth and cost optimisation efforts, including a 50% reduction in server costs per user since the beginning of 2024. The company claims that its improved feed ranking also enhanced long-term user retention, cutting user acquisition costs to nearly zero.

“Over the past few years we have been successful in cutting our costs significantly and ramping up our revenue. This, coupled with our strategic investment in product development and state of the art recommendation engine, have charted our path to profitability, with the ShareChat app achieving EBITDA profitability,” said Ankush Sachdeva, CEO and Cofounder of ShareChat and Moj. 

Founded in 2015, ShareChat claims to have over 325 Mn monthly active users (MAUs) across its platforms, with Moj contributing 160 Mn MAUs and ShareChat App adding 180 Mn MAUs. The company is backed by marquee investors, including Google, Temasek, and EDBI.

Notably, the company plans to cash breakeven by the end of FY25. The company plans to further reduce its cost savings by optimising the tech infrastructure. 

“We’re also working on improving the efficiency of our algorithms, which will further optimize costs. Additionally, we’re automating some of our processes, which will help reduce the cost of revenue-related operations,” said Manohar Singh, CFO of ShareChat in a press briefing.

“Our first target was to achieve profitability. ShareChat has crossed that line, and soon, we will cross it at the company level as well,” said Singh. 

It is pertinent to note that ShareChat and Moj operate under the umbrella of Mohalla Tech. 

Commenting on the IPO plans, Singh added that the company is looking at another 2 years from today to go public. 

Moreover, the company plans to raise one more funding round before going public. According to Singh, Sharechat is planning to add more people to its cap table as it prepares for its IPO journey. 

Earlier this year in April, the company raised $49 Mn via convertible debentures. 

It came almost two years after the company raised $255 Mn from Google, Temasek, Times Internet, among others. 

Also, the startup has been on a cost-cutting spree since 2023. It laid off around 800 employees in three layoff exercises last year and also pulled the plug on its fantasy app platform Jeet11 and live commerce business.