Saveo, a pharmacy-focused supply chain and marketplace platform, has grown by a factor of 103 since launch. Its revenue increased to Rs 196 crore in FY24 from Rs 1.9 crore in FY20. During the same period, the company was also able to reduce its losses. Saveo's revenue from operations increased by 16.7% to Rs 196 crore in FY24 from Rs 168 crore in FY23, according to its financial statement obtained from the Registrar of Companies (ROC).
Saveo is a B2B pharmaceutical marketplace that connects pharmaceutical companies with retailers. It serves as a procurement hub for generics, surgical supplies, over-the-counter products, specialty medicines, allopathy, and ayurvedic medicines. In FY24, the sale of these medicines provided the company's sole revenue.
On the expense side, the cost of purchasing medicines accounted for 78% of the total expenses. This cost increased by 19.5% to Rs 184 crore in FY24, from Rs 154 crore in FY23. However, Saveo optimized its workforce costs, resulting in a 24.32% reduction in employee benefit expenses, totaling Rs 28 crore in the previous fiscal year.
Finance costs increased by 40% to Rs 7 crore, while other overheads, including operational expenses, totaled Rs 16.23 crore in the previous fiscal year. Overall, Saveo's total expenditure increased by 10% to Rs 235 crore in FY24. The Bengaluru-based firm reduced its losses by 16% to Rs 38.5 crore in FY24, down from Rs 46 crore in FY23. The ROCE and EBITDA margins increased to -225% and -15.69%, respectively.
On a unit level, Saveo spent Rs 1.20 to earn a single rupee of revenue in FY24, up from Rs 1.27 in FY23. For FY24, the company reported Rs 57 crore in current assets, of which Rs 10 crore was cash and bank balance. According to the startup data intelligence platform, Saveo has raised a total of $20 million in funding so far. Matrix Partners (11.81%), RTP Global Partners (10.42%), and Indian Quotient (9.06%) are the company's top investors.
The pharmacy industry, which Saveo serves, is experiencing what could be considered a once-in-three-decade wave of change. From a shift away from the medical reps model to the rise of online pharmacies to the growing reach and distribution of government-sponsored generic dispensers. For Saveo, because it makes life easier for the smaller pharmaceutical manufacturer and the pharmacist, this is a time to keep costs under control while carefully expanding. It has used its founders' IT skills to simplify the process and appears to be on track for profitability. Like any business, a little luck in terms of a general expansion of the pharmaceutical manufacturing market, as well as tighter regulation of pharmacy distribution, may help, but the trajectory is certainly promising regardless.
