Urban Company’s CEO Expects UAE Operations To Turn Profitable Soon

Just days after Urban Company’s cofounder and CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal claimed that it turned profitable before tax (PBT) in April 2024, the hyperlocal services startup now expects its UAE  operations to turn profitable soon.

As per news agency PTI, Bhal, however, said that other international markets such as Saudi Arabia and Singapore may need “more time” to achieve profitability. 

“UAE was our first market outside of India. We have been there for about five years and we have done fairly well there. Market is also at the brink of profitability. Saudi Arabia and Singapore are a much younger market for us, still in investment mode,” Bhal said.

It is pertinent to note that apart from these three countries, Urban Company also has overseas operations in Australia.

In a word of caution for founders looking to expand globally, he reportedly said that startups should do “reasonable justice to India before venturing out”, adding that foraying into international markets takes “focus away” from the home market.

Noting that India is a huge market that is growing faster than any other market, Bhal reportedly added that it is challenging for a company to set up business in a “do it yourself market” like the West while the same business might have been successful in countries that have a cultural orientation of “do it for me”.

Bhal’s PBT announcement comes nearly a year after the startup claimed that its India business had broken even in the first quarter (Q1) of the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) at an “adjusted EBITDA level with negative working capital”.

The company’s net loss also declined 40% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 308 Cr in FY23 compared to INR 514 Cr in FY22 on the back of a mega streamlining exercise that has seen protests by its gig workers over alleged unfair employment practices.

Founded in 2014 by Bahl, Raghav Chandra and Varun Khaitan, Urban Company is a doorstep service provider that offers home cleaning, appliance salon and massage, repair services and painting, among other services. 

While the company is yet to disclose its FY24 numbers, all eyes are now on how the company fared during the fiscal. However, Urban Company has joined a growing list of Indian new-age tech startups that cut costs and shelved expansion plans as capital becomes scarce during the ongoing winter. 

Be it Swiggy or BYJU’S, all major names have been on a cost cutting spree with an eye on growing profitably and sustainably.

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