Rapido, the backed mobility unicorn by Prosus, has said that its operating revenue has risen to nearly ₹ 650 crore for FY24. This has reflected a growth of 46.3% year-on-year from ₹ 443 crore posted in FY23. During the time, it also managed to cut its losses down by 45%, thereby reducing it from ₹ 675 crore in FY23 to ₹ 371 crore in FY24.
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On the top line, diversified service offerings by Rapido-including ride-hailing services across two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers-boosts revenue growth. What is more interesting, however, is that the net income from these modes of transport accounted for 55.9% of the operating revenue of ₹362 crores. This saw a 48.4% increase. Gross platform income from these services was reported at ₹505 crore, although it does include ₹144 crore allocated for customer discounts.
In addition to the main ride-hailing services, Rapido’s delivery and subscription services also witnessed tremendous growth. The former raked in a revenue of ₹265 crore while the latter came up with a revenue of ₹19 crore. Those figures indicate that their delivery service has grown by 39.5%, and subscriptions have grown by a whopping 171.4%. It is all thanks to successful extensions of revenue-generating streams. Taking all other allied services and interest income into account, the overall revenue from Rapido has been ₹695 crore in FY24, against ₹497 crore the previous year.
Since the company sustained its cost with scale, cost control was an imperative for the financial performance of Rapido. Highest cost centre was incentive paid out to partners, which accounted for 43% of total cost, thereby plummeting by 11% of ₹460 crores. Employee costs were also reduced by 16.9%, hence cutting down to ₹172 crores, while marketing costs reduced by 10.8% of ₹214 crores.
Though it decreased, the absolute expenditure for Rapido went up to ₹1,066 crore in FY24, that is up by 30.41% Y-o-Y. Here, the main increases were related to mounting operating expenses, up by 29.98% at ₹882.3 crore. Though ROCE and EBITDA margin were at -90.7% and -52.5% for the company respectively, they continued facing challenges towards profitability.
There is another prominent feature of the Rapido’s financials-and that is cash management. The bank balance (excludes cash equivalents) declined by 88.1% to ₹16.39 crore whereas cash equivalents decreased by as much as 75.3%. Cash and cash equivalent stood at ₹71.71 crore. Trade receivables doubled up from FY23 ₹16 crore to FY24 ₹32.06 crore, meaning collections are strengthened from its operations.
The company has emerged as a unicorn in the recent $200-million funding round, led by WestBridge Capital, under which it has raised over $500 million dollars so far. This capital will be touted to support its growth strategy as it continues competing in the ride-hailing market with other major players like Uber and Ola.
Internal documents states that Rapido has taken the second largest place after Ola and successfully surrounds itself with bike, auto, and cab services. Autorickshaws contribute to 40% of its gross merchandise value, while bike taxis account for over 50% of rides.
In general, Rapido’s excellent revenue growth and eroding loss pronounce its effective operational strategy and positioning in the very competitive mobility industry. And with much still up its sleeves in innovation and expansion, wins are due to be expected in the years ahead.
