Listed startups post a mix bag of performance in Q4 of FY22

Bengaluru, 28 May Indian startups, which listed in the exchanges last year, are witnessing a mixed bag of quarterly performances. While some have narrowed losses, others have reported fall in profits for the quarter ended March 2022.

Fintech company One97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand, saw widening of its consolidated losses to Rs 761.4 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2022 owing to increasing payment processing charges and employees benefit expenses. It had posted a loss of Rs 442 crore of loss during the same period a year ago.

However, its revenues from operations rose 89 per cent to Rs 1,540 crore over the same period of last fiscal.

Similarly, beauty products retailer Nykaa reported a 49 per cent fall in its quarterly net profit to Rs 8.56 crore owing to rising expenses along with subdued demand environment for personal care and fashion products. It reported a net profit of Rs 16.88 crore a year earlier.

Meanwhile, PB Fintech, which operates insurance marketplace PolicyBazaar and credit platform PaisaBazaar, was able to narrow its losses during the fourth quarter of FY22. Its losses came down to Rs 219 crore as compared to Rs 644 crore in the year-ago period. Its income also more than doubled to Rs 591 crore during this period against Rs 290 crore reported in the same period of previous fiscal year.

Similarly, food aggregator Zomato reported widening of its losses to Rs 360 crore in Q4 of FY22 from Rs 134 crore reported a year ago period. However, its consolidated revenue from operations rose 75 per cent to Rs 1,212 crore as against Rs 692 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Startups in India are staring at a tough phase as subdued demand environment and funding dearth are likely to put loss-making companies in a difficult spot. Valuation of most listed startups has fallen by more than half in the first five months of this year.