Clear, formerly known as Cleartax, has witnessed a significant financial turnaround in its latest fiscal year with an impressive 93% revenue growth that has touched Rs 210 crore for FY24. Such sharp growth indicates the compelling performance of the company in the taxation and financial solutions sector, serving businesses as well as retail consumers.
PC: ANI News
From the consolidated financial report received from the Registrar of Companies, it is found that revenue from operations at Clear shot up from Rs 108.77 crore in FY23 to Rs 209.84 crore in FY24. Such growth in revenues depicts the strategy of the company for expanding the services and operational efficiency.
Notably, though, Clear has managed losses to dip by 59 percent to less than Rs 100 crore during the period and there is much hope in investors and stakeholder circles.
Clear primarily operates in the space of fintech and offers a range of taxation and financial solutions. Three significant areas of this company include Finance Cloud, Compliance Cloud, and Supply Chain Cloud, with accounts payable, e-invoicing, and invoice discounting. The platform is making tax filing easier and more accessible to individuals and addressing the complex needs of businesses.
Revenue in FY24 was mainly driven by the subscription and support services of the software, which accounted for 91.5% of total revenues. This surged by 84.1% to Rs 191.9 crore. The clear company reported Rs 14.63 crore as sales of software. However, the rest of revenue comprises platform as well as technical services and also through commissions earned from its mutual fund distribution business.
In January 2021, Clear launched its mutual fund distribution app, Black, following the acquisition of a mutual fund distributor license from AMFI. This move further diversified the offerings while helping tap new revenue streams and thus contributes to Clear’s financial success.
Though the top line shows considerable increment in income, the company also demonstrates commendable expense management discipline. The largest head though was that of employee benefits, down 19.4 per cent at Rs 202.57 crores in FY24. The total expenses managed to come back from falling off by 9.8 percent, at Rs 310 crore. Its unstinting discipline on expenditure controls has thus ensured this was the diminution from others, where loss stands today at Rs 96.24 crore.
Operating cash outflows also improved and declined by approximately 60% to Rs 73.61 crore, which depicts prudent cash management. Clear still has negative EBITDA margin at -40.26%, mainly on account of the higher cost of operations. Hence, the focus on profitability is still in place.
At the end of March 31, 2024, Clear reported cash and bank balances at Rs 53.39 crore with total current assets at Rs 112.59 crore. The company’s outstanding losses, however, have risen to Rs 865.63 crore.
Clear has therefore managed to raise a total of $140 million from top investments by firms like Kora and Composite Capital Management. This strategic focus on the part of the company towards financial distribution and innovation within the fintech landscape resonates with the response to investor expectations while also striving for sustainable growth. In summary, Clear’s huge revenue growth and loss decline in FY24 indicate success in strategies for navigating competitive fintech space, setting it up for further expansion and increase in market presence.
