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Amagi Records 29% Revenue Boost to Rs 880 Cr in FY24, U.S. Market Dominates Earnings

By
Supriya Biswas
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Amagi, a cloud-based media c provider, has reported substantial growth and narrowed its fiscal losses for FY24. Following a $100 million funding round in November 2023, which valued the company at $1.4 billion, Amagi saw a year-on-year (YoY) revenue increase of over 29%.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company reported operating revenue of Rs 879.15 crore for FY24, a jump from Rs 680 crore in FY23, according to its consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Additional gains of Rs 63 crore from interests and investments raised Amagi’s total revenue to Rs 942 crore for FY24. Amagi empowers content creators by providing innovative tools like Thunderstorm, a server-side ad insertion platform for OTT content, and Cloudport, a channel playout solution designed for TV and OTT platforms.

The U.S. remains Amagi’s dominant market, contributing 67.3% of total revenue, or Rs 591.5 crore, in the last fiscal year. The U.K. market, which accounted for 13.1% of income, showed a 31.10% increase, reaching Rs 115.5 crore. In contrast, India represented less than 1% of total earnings, experiencing a 54.29% decline to Rs 8 crore. Revenues from other international markets surged by 78.95% to Rs 164.1 crore in FY24.

Amagi’s main expenses came from employee benefits, totaling Rs 66.34 crore, up by 10.8% from the previous year. Depreciation and amortization costs rose by 84% to Rs 16.3 crore, while finance expenses grew by 58% to Rs 5.2 crore. Operational expenses, including IT and legal, were Rs 49.33 crore, resulting in a total expenditure increase of 15.46% to Rs 1,189 crore in FY24 from Rs 1,039 crore in FY23. Amagi’s financial restructuring included recording share capital at Rs 100 per share with the remainder as securities premium.

In terms of profitability, Amagi successfully reduced its losses by 23.7% to Rs 245 crore in FY24. The company’s ROCE and EBITDA margins were at -24.43% and -22.86%, respectively, and it spent Rs 1.34 to earn a rupee of operating revenue. Amagi’s cash reserves decreased to Rs 262.9 crore from Rs 740 crore in FY23, while other bank balances grew to Rs 514 crore, up from zero the prior year. Trade receivables also climbed to Rs 252 crore from Rs 204 crore in FY23.

Amagi achieved unicorn status in March 2022 with a $95 million investment led by Accel Partners, followed by another $110 million funding round in November. Industry sources reveal that Amagi may be exploring a $250 million funding opportunity in the near future.

The company’s remarkable transformation from a local advertising business in 2018 to a cloud-based SaaS solution provider for global content monetization has marked it as a standout in the B2B SaaS sector. Amagi’s growth in the U.S. market since FY21, where it first reported a revenue of Rs 219 crore and a profit of Rs 20.7 crore, underscores its successful pivot. With ongoing growth and decreased losses, Amagi’s founders and board may be eyeing an IPO, although specific plans have yet to be disclosed.

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Bold Care Achieves Rs 33 Crore Revenue in FY24, Expands Product Line

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

Bold Care, the men’s wellness brand co-founded by Bollywood star Ranveer Singh, reported revenues of Rs 33 crore for FY24, showing a steady annual revenue run-rate close to its projected Rs 40 crore. However, despite revenue growth, the company faced widening losses due to increased spending on marketing and operations.

The brand, focused on men’s health and wellness, saw its revenue grow by 6.67%, reaching Rs 32.9 crore from Rs 30.9 crore in FY23, as per its consolidated filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Known for its range of D2C products like hair care and performance supplements, Bold Care generated nearly all its revenue through online marketplaces and its website. Domestic sales dominated, with overseas revenue contributing Rs 30 lakhs in FY24.

Operating expenses surged, with the cost of materials dropping 10.71% to Rs 15.09 crore, while advertising and promotional spending rose by 11.09% to Rs 14.02 crore. Employee expenses also climbed by 38.36% to Rs 4.22 crore, and legal fees increased by 41.35%. Discounts offered nearly doubled, spiking by 97.79% to Rs 2.69 crore. In total, Bold Care’s expenses amounted to Rs 53.9 crore, leading to a net loss of Rs 19.3 crore, up by 21.46% from the previous fiscal year. The company’s ROCE and EBITDA margins stood at -40.8% and -11.71% respectively, reflecting high expenditure with Rs 1.63 spent for every rupee earned in revenue.

The startup reported Cash and Cash Equivalents of Rs 13.57 crore and Receivables of Rs 4.86 crore in FY24. Ranveer Singh, who invested an undisclosed sum in Bold Care in December 2023, holds a co-ownership stake, with the founding team retaining over 55% of the company according to TheKredible.

Expanding its portfolio, Bold Care recently entered the women’s wellness market with its new brand, Bloom, positioning itself against competitors like Man Matters and Beardo in the D2C wellness space.

Ola Moves Ahead with IPO Plans, Sets Extraordinary Meeting for November 14

By
Supriya Biswas
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Ride-hailing giant Ola is progressing towards its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO), with its parent company, ANI Technologies Private Limited, scheduling an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on November 14, 2024. The Bengaluru-based company is expected to discuss crucial matters related to the IPO at this gathering.

This marks the second public market entry for a company led by Bhavish Aggarwal, following Ola Electric’s listing earlier this year.

An email dated October 23, from Gagandeep Singh, the Office of the Company Secretary, confirmed the EGM will occur at the company’s registered office at 4:00 PM IST. The email also highlighted Ola’s ongoing evaluation of an IPO, pending favorable market conditions, necessary regulatory approvals, and other legal considerations.

The IPO is anticipated to feature a mix of fresh issues along with an offer for sale by existing shareholders, aligning with Ola’s strategy for growth and expansion. Insiders reveal that a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) is likely to be filed within the next month, signaling Ola’s readiness to advance this milestone.

Reports indicate Ola recently sought investor approval to transition into a public entity. In a strategic shift in August, Bhavish Aggarwal announced that Ola Cabs would rebrand as Ola Consumer, expanding to include financial services, cloud kitchens, and electric logistics.

In FY23, ANI Technologies achieved a 42% increase in revenue, reaching Rs 2,799 crore, while managing to cut its losses by nearly half to Rs 772 crore. Although FY24 figures remain pending, Vanguard’s recent valuation places Ola at approximately $2 billion as of August. This is a notable dip from its $7.3 billion valuation in 2021.

As Ola Electric’s recent stock performance saw fluctuations, Ola faces a dynamic market landscape, but its IPO preparation underscores the company’s resilience and adaptive strategy.

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Xerox Partners with TCS and HCLTech in $1 Billion IT Services Agreement

By
Supriya Biswas
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Xerox has entered into a significant IT services agreement valued at over $1 billion with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCLTech, marking a major development in its strategic technology partnerships. This agreement includes a $590 million deal with HCLTech for a five-year term and a $490 million arrangement with TCS for a seven-year period, according to Xerox’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The deal represents an expansion of existing relationships between the Connecticut-based company and the two Indian IT giants. Months prior, both TCS and HCLTech had revealed the growth of their respective partnerships with Xerox, focusing on enhanced technology services.

The new contracts are part of Xerox’s ongoing digital transformation efforts. TCS, which has been providing business process outsourcing services for Xerox’s global finance and accounting functions, will now help consolidate Xerox’s technology services to drive more efficient business outcomes. Additionally, TCS will assist in migrating Xerox’s legacy data centers to the Azure cloud, deploying a cloud-based ERP platform, and incorporating generative AI to foster sustainable business growth.

Meanwhile, HCLTech, which extended its 15-year partnership with Xerox in August, is focusing on AI-driven engineering services and digital process operations as part of the extended collaboration. HCLTech’s previous outsourcing deal with Xerox, valued at $1.3 billion over seven years, was signed in 2019.

In addition to the deals with TCS and HCLTech, Xerox’s regulatory filing also revealed significant commitments with Microsoft and SAP, including $125 million for seven years with Microsoft and $50 million with SAP over the same duration.

TCS and HCLTech did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

UnifyApps Secures $20 Million in Series A, Names Haitham ElKhatib as New Co-Founder

By
Supriya Biswas
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UnifyApps, a cutting-edge enterprise AI agent platform, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by ICONIQ Growth, with backing from current investor Elevation Capital. This boost in capital brings the company’s total funding to $31 million, following an $11 million seed round in May spearheaded by Elevation Capital.

Focused on empowering enterprise teams, UnifyApps offers a scalable platform designed to integrate seamlessly with various SaaS applications. Through UnifyApps, organizations can centralize their data, streamline workflows, and develop advanced applications without code. Leveraging its AI-driven approach, the platform enables users to create tailored AI agents that tap into their enterprise’s existing knowledge base, enhancing productivity across departments from IT to HR to Sales. The platform also includes features for observability, compliance, and fine-tuning, maintaining rigorous standards for accuracy, security, and auditability.

Founded by a team of industry experts—Pavitar Singh, Sumeet Nandal, Abhishek Kurana, Rachit Mittal, Abhinav Singi, Rahul Anishetty, Kavish Manubolu, and Shivam Satrawal—UnifyApps has recently welcomed Haitham ElKhatib as its Chief Revenue Officer and co-founder. ElKhatib, previously the Senior Vice President of Sales for Growth Markets at Sprinklr, will bring his extensive experience in scaling sales functions to the company.

UnifyApps has already gained traction with major clients, including a leading bank, a top telecommunications provider, and a major security firm. The company’s expansion efforts have also led to the establishment of offices in Gurugram, Dubai, and New York, as well as an increase in its workforce to over 150 employees.

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RENÉE Cosmetics Achieves 2X Growth, Reaches Rs 200 Crore Revenue in FY24

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

RENÉE Cosmetics, an emerging beauty brand, experienced a significant boost in revenue during FY24, doubling its sales to approach the Rs 200 crore milestone. However, the surge in revenue came at a steep cost, with the company reporting an 88% increase in losses due to extensive promotional spending.

According to RENÉE’s consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies, the company’s revenue from operations grew substantially to Rs 191.65 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 97.15 crore the previous fiscal year. Founded by Aashka Goradia Goble alongside Beardo co-founders Priyank Shah and Ashutosh Valani, RENÉE offers a wide range of beauty products, including eye makeup, lip colors, skin serums, and highlighters. In addition to selling through third-party e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms, the brand had over 650 shop-in-shop outlets across India by June 2024.

The company also recorded Rs 8.5 crore in interest and financial asset gains, bringing its total revenue for FY24 to Rs 200 crore.

On the expense side, advertising and promotional activities accounted for the largest share of costs, making up 38.8% of the overall expenditure. These costs surged by 70.6% to Rs 102.51 crore, up from Rs 60.1 crore in FY23. Additionally, the cost of materials and employee benefits more than doubled, reaching Rs 52.44 crore and Rs 31.67 crore, respectively. The latter figure also includes Rs 1.37 crore in Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) expenses for the year.

Total company expenditure rose by 81.6% to Rs 264 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 145.38 crore in the previous fiscal year. As a result of the increased cash burn, RENÉE Cosmetics’ losses also widened by 88.2%, rising to Rs 61.45 crore in FY24 from Rs 32.66 crore in FY23.

The company’s operating cash outflows also saw a 17.2% increase, reaching Rs 75 crore during the period. RENÉE’s EBITDA margin and return on capital employed (ROCE) stood at -28.22% and -42.38%, respectively. On a unit level, the company spent Rs 1.38 to generate every rupee of operating revenue.

To date, RENÉE Cosmetics has raised approximately $46 million from investors, including Evolvence India, Edelweiss Group, Equanimity Ventures, and 100Unicorns. In its latest fundraising effort, the company secured Rs 100 crore in an extended Series B round in June 2024.

Head Digital Works Completes $3 Million ESOP Buyback, Empowering Employees

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

Head Digital Works, the parent company of the popular skill gaming platform A23, has successfully concluded its inaugural employee stock options (ESOP) buyback program, valued at $3 million. A significant 97% of eligible ESOP holders chose to sell a portion of their vested shares, with nearly half of the company’s workforce, which exceeds 500 employees, benefiting from this initiative.

Founded in 2006 by Deepak Gullapalli, Head Digital Works has emerged as a key player in the online gambling and fantasy gaming industry. The company operates several well-known platforms, including A23 (an online rummy site), Fanfight, and Cricket.com, which focus on fantasy sports. The company is known for offering a variety of payment methods to enhance user experience.

Head Digital Works currently boasts a registered user base of over 70 million across its brands. It is recognized as the pioneer in launching classic Indian Rummy online, aiming to position Rummy as a professional game and build a community of skilled players. To date, the company has raised $91 million in funding.

In a similar move, AppsForBharat recently initiated its first ESOP buyback for 25 employees. So far in 2024, nearly 20 startups have rolled out ESOP buyback, liquidity, and payout programs, totaling over $190 million in value.

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Perfios’ Profit Multiplies Amid Stellar Growth, Revenue Tops Rs 550 Cr in FY24

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

Perfios, a prominent SaaS-based B2B fintech player, demonstrated impressive growth in FY24, ending March 2024, as its profit after tax (PAT) surged more than 9 times to reach Rs 71.67 crore. This marks a 37.1% year-on-year increase in revenue, crossing the Rs 550 crore mark.

The company’s revenue from operations climbed to Rs 557.8 crore in FY24, up from Rs 407 crore in FY23, as per financials submitted to the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Perfios, which supports financial institutions across sectors like consumer lending, SME lending, and wealth management, now operates in 18 countries and collaborates with over 1,200 institutions.

Perfios’ service income rose by 29.3% to Rs 472.2 crore, while earnings from software and maintenance doubled to Rs 82 crore. The Kedaara Capital-backed firm also garnered Rs 3.57 crore from subscription fees, contributing to its total revenue of Rs 569.47 crore. Costs saw increases too, with employee benefits rising 36.4% to Rs 291.16 crore, and overheads in legal, professional, and tech costs growing to Rs 161 crore, up from Rs 128.8 crore in FY23. Depreciation costs also grew by 13.1% year-over-year, reaching Rs 36.3 crore.

Perfios’ consolidated expenses went up 28.3%, totaling Rs 495.5 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 386.4 crore the previous year. Despite this, its profit soared, with the standalone profit reaching Rs 57.19 crore. Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) and EBITDA margins improved to 7.07% and 20.58%, respectively, with an expense of Rs 0.89 for every rupee earned.

By the close of FY24, Perfios held Rs 255.28 crore in cash, with an additional Rs 119 crore in bank balances and Rs 143.33 crore in receivables.

According to startup data platform TheKredible, Perfios has raised Rs 3,644.45 crore in funding to date, securing Rs 662 crore from Kedaara Capital in March 2024 at a valuation exceeding $1 billion, making it India’s second unicorn of the year. In March 2022, Perfios acquired Karza Technologies for Rs 600 crore, a move that strengthened its market presence.

After 15 years of growth, the road ahead may include further acquisitions, or even a potential shift in leadership. Founders who’ve steered Perfios since the 1980s may consider the firm’s next steps in an evolving fintech landscape. The future of Perfios promises continued strategic growth and expansion, backed by solid financials and strong market positioning.

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Ola Electric Sees Strong Annual Revenue Growth Despite Quarterly Dip, Market Share Rebounds in October

By
Supriya Biswas
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Ola Electric, the electric two-wheeler manufacturer, saw a 26% quarter-on-quarter dip in revenue, reaching Rs 1,214 crore in Q2 FY25 compared to Rs 1,644 crore in Q1 FY25. However, year-on-year, the company experienced a robust 39% growth from Rs 873 crore in Q2 FY24, attributed to a 73.6% increase in deliveries, totaling 98,619 units.

The automotive division was the major revenue driver with Rs 1,215 crore, while the cell segment added Rs 1 crore, and additional income of Rs 100 crore brought the total to Rs 1,314 crore for Q2 FY25.

Costs were significant, with materials being the highest expense, reaching Rs 989 crore—up 20.3% from Rs 822 crore in Q2 FY24, though down 26.25% sequentially from Rs 1,341 crore in Q1 FY25. Employee benefits amounted to Rs 139 crore, while other operational and administrative expenses contributed Rs 465 crore, bringing total expenses to Rs 1,593 crore for Q2 FY25—a 21.8% year-on-year increase, though a 13.8% decrease from Q1 FY25.

The net loss climbed to Rs 495 crore, marking a 42.65% rise from Rs 347 crore in Q1 FY25, though this is a slight improvement from the Rs 524 crore loss reported in Q2 FY24.

In comparison, Ola Electric’s competitor, Ather, recorded Rs 339 crore in revenue and a net loss of Rs 183 crore for Q1 FY25. Ather, led by Tarun Mehta, has filed draft IPO papers but has yet to release Q2 results.

October showed positive momentum for Ola Electric, with sales jumping to 41,605 units, increasing its market share to 30% from September’s 27%, though still below previous highs of 32% in August and 49% in June.

By November 8, Ola Electric’s shares were trading at Rs 72.72, reflecting a nearly 54% drop from their mid-August peak of Rs 157.53.

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Goldmine Advertising Takes Charge of Canara Bank’s Digital & Social Media Strategy

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

Goldmine Advertising has been entrusted with managing the social and digital media strategy for Canara Bank, with a focus on boosting the bank’s engagement across key platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and more. This strategic collaboration aims to elevate Canara Bank’s digital footprint, appealing to younger audiences and fortifying its position in the increasingly competitive online banking space.

Through this partnership, Goldmine Advertising will lead the design and execution of robust social media strategies to ensure Canara Bank’s digital presence aligns with the expectations of modern banking consumers. The agency’s role will encompass enhancing visibility and engagement across major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube. In addition to creating engaging content, the agency will work on building a loyal community around the brand and managing online reputation, while also implementing SEO tactics to ensure the bank stays ahead in the ever-changing digital environment.

Pratik Singla, CEO of Goldmine Advertising, shared his enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “Canara Bank is a well-respected legacy brand with extensive national reach. This partnership adds significant strength to our BFSI portfolio and presents an exciting opportunity to apply our expertise in elevating their social media presence. Our team is eager to create powerful campaigns and push the boundaries of creativity with the support of our in-house content and digital specialists.”

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