Upstox Claims Profitability In FY23, Broking Revenue Crosses INR 1,000 Cr Mark

Online discount broking platform Upstox claimed it turned profitable in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) with a consolidated profit of over INR 25 Cr.

In a statement, Upstox said its broking revenue jumped 44% to cross the INR 1,000 Cr mark in FY23. Its EBITDA also surpassed the INR 200 Cr level.

The stock trading platform had reported an operating revenue of INR 765.6 Cr in FY22.

Commenting on its profitability, Upstox CEO and cofounder Ravi Kumar said in the statement, “Our journey towards profitability reflects our steadfast commitment to helping India ‘Invest Right’.” 

Upstox’s parent company RKSV Securities was founded by Shrini Viswanath, Raghu Kumar, and Ravi Kumar in 2008. From being a proprietary trading firm, it ventured into retail brokerage with the launch of the Upstox platform in 2012. It currently claims to have a customer base of over 1.3 Cr Indians. The startup is backed by the likes of Ratan Tata and Tiger Global.

Upstox doesn’t charge users for opening a trading account, unlike Zerodha, but has a demat account maintenance charge of INR 150. The platform also earns from brokerage and various other charges.

In its statement, Upstox said that 2023 was a pivotal year for the company, marking its third consecutive year as an official sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and ICC World Cup. These partnerships have helped boost the brand’s visibility by an impressive 95%, it added. 

The startup said it launched a number of new features and tools in 2023, including a revamped Option Chain tool, an upgraded API platform, and a dedicated F&O Discover section. Upstox also claimed to have become the first broker to launch Tick-by-Tick powered charts in 2023

Besides, the launch of features like Basket Orders, Order Slicing, and TradingView in 2023 improved the positioning of the platform as a trusted finance app, the startup claimed.

Upstox competes with the likes of Groww and Zerodha in the competitive online stock broking space in the country.

Zerodha, which recently lost the tag of being the number 1 brokerage in terms of active user base to Groww, posted a 39% year-on-year (YoY) jump in its net profit to INR 2,907 Cr in FY23. Its total revenue crossed the INR 6,000 Cr mark during the year. 

On the other hand, Billionbrains Garage Private Limited, the parent of Groww, reported a net profit of INR 448.7 Cr in FY23 as against a net loss of INR 239 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Its operating revenue more than tripled to INR 1,277.8 Cr during the year under review from INR 351 Cr in FY22.