Operating revenue more than doubles to INR 29 Cr, and Yulu’s FY22 loss narrows to INR 55.5 Cr

With the help of a tax credit, electric mobility startup Yulu’s net loss decreased from INR 61.1 Cr to INR 55.5 Cr in the fiscal year 2021–2022 (FY22).

In FY22, Yulu’s loss before tax increased by more than 13% year over year to INR 56.7 Cr (YoY). In FY22, it received a tax credit of INR 1.2 Cr compared to INR 11.1 Cr in the prior fiscal year.

Operating income for the startup increased by more than twofold to INR 29 Cr from INR 13.6 Cr in FY21. Yulu’s main source of income is the mobility-as-a-service it offers in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR.

Amit Gupta, RK Misra, Naveen Dachuri, and Hemant Gupta founded Yulu in 2017, and the company’s fleet of e-bikes serves two user types: daily commuters (with its vehicle Yulu Miracle) and last-mile delivery professionals (with Yulu Dex). But after the lockdowns at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic kept the startup’s primary target market at home—office workers—the second offering was introduced around mid-2022.

The drivers of Yulu’s vehicles are not required to have driving licenses because they travel at speeds under 25 km/h. The start-up has worked with companies like Bajaj Auto to produce vehicles. Furthermore, it runs a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) network to power its entire fleet of e-bikes.

In FY22, the startup spent 6.9 Cr INR on repairs and maintenance, compared to 4.4 Cr INR in FY21. Additionally, it spent INR 5.3 Cr on vehicle transportation, an increase of nearly 35% YoY.

It is important to note that because Yulu’s e-bikes are available for public use and are kept in Yulu zones along the roadsides and in the lanes, they are more likely to sustain damage. The startup must also transport the vehicles in order to charge them and, if necessary, repair any damage.

Additionally, Yulu spent INR 3.3 Cr on rent in FY22, up 32% YoY. During the reporting period, its technology and infrastructure costs increased by 105% to INR 2.4 Cr.

Notably, marketing and advertising costs dropped from INR 1.3 Cr in FY21 to INR 1.1 Cr in FY22.

Magna International contributed $82 Mn to Yulu’s Series B round, which it completed in September 2022. Yulu had recovered from the pandemic and increased its revenue 3X from pre-pandemic levels, according to the startup’s CEO and cofounder Gupta, who spoke to Inc42 following the fundraising. He claimed that Yulu had 10,000 operational e-bikes on the road and an ARR of $6 million.

In November of last year, the startup also obtained a $9 Mn loan from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

Yulu recently released two new upgraded vehicle variants—one for Miracle and the other for Dex.

Over $100 million has already been raised for the startup in equity and debt financing. It stated last month that it planned to increase its Electric Vehicle fleet to 1 lakh units over the following 12 months.