Lendingkart, a prominent fintech firm specializing in SME loans, reported a 36% increase in revenue, reaching ₹1,090 crore in FY24, up from ₹798 crore in FY23, as per its RoC filings. Despite this growth, its profit after tax (PAT) declined by 6% to ₹174.92 crore, down from ₹185.93 crore in FY23, driven by surging expenses.
Co-lending operations were the largest revenue contributor, accounting for 54% of its operating revenue at ₹591 crore, growing 88% year-on-year, while commission income surged 34 times to ₹22.58 crore. However, interest income on term loans dipped by 2.86% to ₹407.81 crore. Rising costs, including a 75.7% increase in employee benefits to ₹199 crore and a 58.25% rise in legal charges to ₹125.62 crore, contributed to total expenses climbing 49.4% to ₹1,022.7 crore. While impairment losses of ₹171.67 crore were recorded, these were excluded from expense or profit calculations.
Lendingkart, which offers working capital loans averaging ₹5-6 lakh and has disbursed ₹18,700 crore to over 300,000 businesses, ended FY24 with ₹768.5 crore in cash and bank balances and ₹2,110 crore in current assets. Recently acquired by Temasek’s Fullerton in a distress sale, the company’s valuation plunged to $100 million, a significant drop from its peak of $690 million. Despite profitability challenges, Lendingkart’s ROCE stood at 23.33%, and its EBITDA margin was 44.39%. To date, it has raised ₹3,217 crore (~$452 million) from investors, including Temasek, Bertelsmann, Mayfield, and Saama Capital, highlighting its potential for a financial turnaround under new ownership.