Wealth management platform Scripbox has achieved a significant revenue growth to ₹84.33 crore for the fiscal year ending March 2024. This is an increase of 44.4% from ₹58.4 crore of the previous fiscal year. The Bengaluru-based firm cut employees by 38% in tight cost-cutting initiatives, which also helped to the significant growth made by the firm during FY24.
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Scripbox was started in 2012 and follows a multi-revenue business model- brokerage and mutual fund commission, PMS, AIFs, etc. The majority of the operating revenue for FY24 is contributed by Broking and commissions, which is approximately ₹77.02 crores and constitutes 91.3% of the operating revenue for the fiscal. Besides that, investment advisory fee came at ₹6.2 crore and PMS at ₹1.07 crore.
In addition, Scripbox had reported revenue from interest and gains on financial assets at ₹6.15 crore, which brought the total revenue of the company to ₹90.5 crore. This diverse revenue stream speaks to Scripbox’s flexibility in a very competitive landscape in India for wealth management.
On the expense side, total expense of Scripbox dropped by 25% with amount declining from ₹179.4 crore in FY23 to ₹134.24 crore in FY24. Employee benefits were largest expense item at ₹73.13 crore and witnessed a sharp decline from ₹118.32 crore of the previous year. What more, this amount also encompasses ₹25.72 crore in the name of ESOP expenses.
The strategic cost-cutting measures of the company have started yielding fruits, as net losses have reduced by 62% from ₹117.65 crore in FY23 to ₹44.7 crore in FY24. Still an improvement, Scripbox has reported exceptional items of ₹48.8 crore pertaining to the surrender or cancellation of ESOPs. That’s a non-cash item. Overall losses are calculated without this.
However, scripbox reported operating cash flows at ₹-11.22 crore for FY24 compared with ₹50.37 crore in the previous fiscal year. Improvement in the EBITDA margin helped bring it in at -32.31% with ROCE also on an uptick at -52.44%. This infers that operational efficiency is on an upswing, though the company has remained loss reporting.
Scripbox’s AUM currently stands at ₹18,500 crore as of FY24, which is a testimonial to the company’s existence in the wealth management space. Cash and bank balance as of FY24 stood at ₹7.43 crore, and the current assets worth ₹37 crore translated into a current ratio of 96.83%.
So far, Scripbox has managed to raise more than $55 million in its kitty and has reached a valuation of around ₹1,150 crore or $137 million. The company has also been backed by some of the well-known investors including Accel, LetsVenture, and DMI. Indian wealthtech seems to be doing well, however, for Scripbox, the competition has started creeping in slowly in the form of Neo, Dezerv, and Fisdom, that together have raised more than $200 million in the recent months.
In conclusion, Scripbox’s FY24 financial performance underlines its resilience and flexibility in a challenging market. The company is well set for future growth with huge increases in revenue and cost management. However, as competition grows, Scripbox will have to keep fine-tuning its strategies to maintain relevance and achieve long-term sustainability in the wealth management sector.
