For the fiscal year that ended in March 2024, Battery Smart, a network that swaps batteries for electric two- and three-wheelers, had a threefold increase in sales. But as the Gurugram-based company aggressively sought scale, its losses also increased.
According to Battery Smart's consolidated financial filings obtained from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), its operating revenue increased 193 percent from Rs. 56 crore in FY23 to Rs. 164 crore in FY24.
Battery Smart provides battery-as-a-service to automakers by running a network of battery swaps for electric two- and three-wheelers. In FY24, the company's sole source of income was from this service.
Interest on financial assets brought in an extra Rs. 23 crore for the company, bringing its FY24 total revenue to Rs. 187 crore.
On the expense side, borrowing costs increased by over 3.75 times to Rs. 45 crore, while depreciation charges skyrocketed by 3.8 times to Rs. 85 crore. The cost of employee benefits rose 95.2 percent to Rs. 41 crore. It is interesting to note that during the aforementioned fiscal year, advertising expenditures decreased by 60 percent to Rs. 8 crore.
The entire amount spent by Battery Smart more than doubled from Rs. 125 crore in FY23 to Rs. 327 crore in FY24. Please consult TheKredible for a more thorough breakdown of expenses.
Battery Smart saw a considerable increase in losses despite robust top-line growth. The company's FY24 net loss of Rs. 140 crore was more than twice as large as its FY23 loss of Rs 61 crore. Its EBITDA margin was -5.35 percent and its Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) was -18.34 percent. The business invested Rs. 1.99 per unit to generate a rupee in operating revenue.
