Urban Company’s Loss Widened By 60% To INR 249 Cr In FY21

Gurugram-based hyperlocal services startup Urban Company’s loss has widened by almost 60% in the March ended FY21. The startup posted a loss of INR 249 Cr in FY21, in comparison to INR 155 Cr in FY20.

However, the startup witnessed a 10% increase in its total revenue from last financial year. The startup posted a total revenue of INR 289 Cr in FY21 as compared to INR 263 Cr in FY20.  Also, it posted INR 247 Cr in FY21 as revenue from operations from INR 218 Cr it clocked in the last financial year FY20. 

The startup clocked a total expense of INR 539 Cr in FY21, a 29% jump from INR 418 Cr it posted in FY20.

Under its expenses, changes in inventories of finished goods, work in progress and stock in trade which was at a loss of INR 7.5 Cr in FY20, has now seen a positive of INR 1.7 Cr in FY21.

Large portion of Urban Company’s expenses grew because of a 62% increase in the employee benefits expense in FY21. The startup recorded INR 226 Cr in terms of employee benefits expense in FY21 in comparison to INR 139 Cr it posted in FY20.

Founded in 2014 by Abhiraj Bahl, Raghav Chandra, and Varun Khaitan, Urban Company (formerly known as Urban Clap) is a home service company that focuses on beauty and massage, appliance repair, plumbing, carpentry, cleaning, and painting.

The startup at present operates in more than 10 major cities including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune among others. 

Urban Company was among one of the six startups that entered the unicorn club in the record breaking second week of April this year. In the said week, six startups including Gupshup, Meesho, CRED, Groww, and IPO-bound PharmEasy entered the much coveted unicorn club. 

Back then, Urban Company bagged $255 Mn in Series F round at a valuation of $2.1 Bn. The round was led by Prosus Ventures, Dragoneer and Wellington Management, in participation with Vy Capital, Tiger Global and Steadview. The round included $188 Mn of primary capital infusion and $67 Mn of secondary sale (meaning existing investors have sold their shares). 

The round of investment came almost two years after it bagged Series E round worth $75 Mn at a $933 Mb valuation led by Tiger Global. 

Urban Company was recently mired in controversy after several Urban Company partners staged protests outside the startup’s headquarters regarding its policies and poor pay. Following this, the company slashed its commission cap by 5%. 

The startup back then reduced the highest commission slab from 30% to 25%. The startup also said that it would remove temporary blocks on their partners.