Mohalla Tech, the parent company of ShareChat and Moj, demonstrated robust growth in the fiscal year ending March 2024. The vernacular social media giant reported a 33% year-on-year increase in revenue, reaching ₹718 crore, while its adjusted EBITDA losses dropped by an impressive 67% during the same period.
As per the company’s statement, operating revenue surged from ₹540 crore in FY23 to ₹718 crore in FY24. Live streaming emerged as the dominant revenue driver, contributing 56% of the income and growing by 41.4% to ₹403 crore. Advertising revenue grew by 23.5% to ₹315 crore, accounting for the remaining share. Additionally, non-operating income of ₹29 crore, mainly from financial gains and interest, brought the total revenue to ₹747 crore.
Cost optimization played a pivotal role in the company’s improved financial performance. Server costs, the largest expense category, were slashed by 50%, according to ShareChat’s CFO, Manohar Charan. Employee benefits costs, including ₹126 crore in ESOP-related expenses, also decreased by 17%, amounting to ₹580 crore. Despite these savings, overall operating expenses stood at ₹1,540 crore in FY24, significantly down from ₹3,119 crore in FY23.
These measures enabled Mohalla Tech to cut its adjusted EBITDA losses to ₹793 crore in FY24, a dramatic improvement from ₹2,400 crore in FY23. Net consolidated losses also reduced substantially, dropping to ₹1,898 crore from ₹5,143 crore the previous fiscal year.
Backed by prominent investors such as Temasek, Google, Tiger Global, and Lightspeed, ShareChat serves over 325 million monthly active users across its platforms, with Moj alone boasting 160 million MAUs. In 2023, the company took bold steps to streamline operations, including workforce reductions affecting 700 employees in two phases and a further 5% layoff in August 2024.
ShareChat continues to secure funding, recently expanding its debt round to $65 million with a $16 million investment from Singapore-based EDBI. Despite these financial strides, the company’s valuation experienced a dip, falling from $5 billion in 2022 to under $2 billion during its latest fundraising efforts.
Through strategic cost management and growth in revenue streams, Mohalla Tech is positioning itself for a more sustainable financial future.