Zoho Breaks INR 5,000 Cr Sales Mark, Profit Climbs To INR 1,917 Cr In FY21

Sridhar Vembu-led SaaS unicorn Zoho has crossed profit after tax of INR 1,900 Cr mark in the financial year ending on March 31, 2021. The Chennai-based startup posted a total profit after tax of INR 1,917.7 Cr in FY21, a 139.4% rise from INR 800.8 Cr it recorded in FY20. 

Zoho, which is one of few Indian startups that became a unicorn being a bootstrapped company, saw its revenue from sales climb to INR 5,229.6 Cr. This was a 22% rise from INR 4,274.7 Cr it achieved through sales in FY20. 

Zoho recorded INR 212.7 Cr from its other income, thus taking the total revenue tally to INR 5,442.4 Cr, a jump from INR 4,385.9 Cr it saw in FY20.

The startup has further managed to narrow its expenses in the FY21. During April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 i.e.FY21, Zoho spent INR 3,024.1 Cr, a slight dip from INR 3,369.7 Cr it burnt in FY20. 

Of the FY21 expense, employee benefit expense stood the highest with INR 1,725 Cr. Employee benefit expense ideally comprises salaries, gratuity, employee welfare, ESOP expense, among others. 

In FY20 the employee benefit expense stood at INR 1,088.93 Cr. Zoho’s depreciation, depletion and amortisation expense was at INR 347.9 Cr in FY21, a drop from INR 451.9 Cr in FY20. 

Founded in 1996 by Vembu and Tony Thomas, Zoho was initially known as AdventNet INC. The SaaS giant has more than 60 Mn customers and over 9K employees globally. With offices in the US, Singapore, UAE, Japan, among other nations, it has more than 50 integrated online applications that support multiple business operations spanning sales and marketing, finance, email and collaboration, app creator and analytics among others. 

Zoho counts some globally known brands such as Levi’s, Amazon, Philips, Whirlpool, Ola, Xiaomi, among others as its clients. 

Vembu who was conferred with Padma Shri award in 2021 is seen as a guru among entrepreneurs in the country. With no investors money, having built a business in a sustainable way, which is profitable has inspired many. 

Just like Flipkart is known for creating a plethora of entrepreneurs more commonly known as Flipsters, early Zoho employees have started their own businesses. One classic example of such a case is Freshworks, another SaaS startup which was listed last year on NASDAQ stock exchange.