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2019 roundup so far: Startups are growing bigger but by widening losses

Nov 1, 2019, 14:42 IST
Business Insider India
  • Startups from across sectors – ecommerce, digital payments etc., continue to burn cash even though some of them have also raised funds this year.
  • Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm have all reported losses for the financial year ending March 2019.
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The financial reports of most Indian unicorns and startups show that even while they are growing at a fast pace, the numbers are not on their side.

Startups across sectors – ecommerce, digital payments etc., continue to burn cash even though some of them have also raised funds this year.

Here’s a roundup of startup losses that have been reported so far


Meesho

Facebook-backed Meesho reported a massive loss of ₹100.4 crore for the financial year that ended in March. This is much higher than the mere ₹5 crore loss the year before. But its revenues also grew to ₹84 crore from ₹6 crore the year before.

But clearly the gap between loss and revenue is widening.

Meesho is a marketplace for resellers, which connects them with customers via social media channels like WhatsApp and Facebook. It is first time that the global giant picked up equity in an Indian startup.

Sharechat

Sharechat’s losses grew 12 times over to ₹415 crores. The previous year it reported a ₹33.8 crore loss.

The social media app for local languages was the first Indian startup to bag a funding from Twitter. It had got a $100 million funding from Twitter taking its total funding to $224 million.

Paytm

According to reports, Paytm’s losses went up by 165% to ₹3,959 crores from ₹1,490 crore the previous year. However its e-commerce arm Paytm Mall cut down losses by 35% to ₹1,171 crores in FY19.

Paytm Mall earlier said that it reduced its monthly spends by ₹400 million, and is targeting an pre-tax profit breakeven by 2021-22.

Flipkart

Flipkart Internet, which is Flipkart’s sub division for its e-commerce business, saw its losses widen by 40% to ₹1,624 crore. However, its operating revenues grew by 51% to ₹4,234 crore.

That’s not all, Flipkart’s net loss also expanded by a whopping 86% to ₹3,837 crore.

Amazon

Amazon India’s e-commerce vertical – Amazon Seller Services saw a dip in its losses which came in lower by 9.5% to ₹5,685 crore. Amazon’s revenues grew by 55% to ₹7,778 crore.

In fact the company set many records in losses this time around. Its total losses in India crossed the ₹7,000 crore mark. Its payment arm – Amazon Pay also posted record losses of ₹1,160.8 crore loss.

Zomato

The food aggregator unicorn Zomato reported a loss of $294 million for the financial year ending March 2019. However its revenue grew to touch $206 million (₹1459.7 crores).

It has been having a good run so far with its revenue for the first half of FY20 jumping by 225% to $205 million. The food aggregator said that it cut its losses as its monthly burn rate is down to 60% from what it was in March.

Dunzo

Hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo has registered a loss of ₹168.9 crores in FY19 for a wafer thin revenue of ₹76.59 lakh. Its losses have grown eight times over, whereas its revenue even with a five-fold increase - is minuscule compared to its losses.

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