Licious, a leading direct-to-consumer (D2C) company specializing in online meat and seafood sales, has significantly narrowed its losses in the fiscal year 2023 (FY23) while experiencing a notable increase in operating revenue. According to recent financial statements, Licious reported a consolidated FY23 loss of Rs 528.6 crore, marking a substantial 38.2% reduction from the Rs 855.6 crore loss incurred in the prior financial year.
During FY23, Licious achieved an operating revenue of Rs 747.8 crore, reflecting a healthy growth rate of 9.6% compared to its FY22 operating revenue of Rs 682.6 crore. The startup’s total income for the financial year ending in March stood at Rs 808.9 crore, up from Rs 706.1 crore in the previous fiscal year.
Co-founder Vivek Gupta had previously projected that Licious would surpass the Rs 1,000 crore revenue milestone in FY23, with expectations of further growth beyond the Rs 1,500 crore mark within the next 12 months. These projections followed the company’s successful Series F2 funding round, which secured $150 million in funding, led by Amansa Capital.
In FY23, Licious saw a 9.9% increase in overall expenditure, amounting to Rs 1,309.3 crore, compared to Rs 1,191.5 crore in FY22. A significant portion of these expenses was attributed to the cost of materials consumed, which includes the purchase of meat and fish products for Licious. This category recorded a 16.3% rise, reaching Rs 644.7 crore, accounting for nearly half of the total expenses.
Employee benefits constituted the second-largest expense category, excluding other expenses, with Licious allocating Rs 239.9 crore, reflecting a 14.5% increase from the Rs 209.5 crore spent in the previous fiscal year.
With reduced losses and modest revenue growth in FY23, Licious is now eyeing EBITDA profitability. The co-founders recently announced that the company is approaching EBITDA profitability, thanks to robust business growth in recent months.
Licious has successfully raised a total of $490 million across 11 funding rounds, according to Tracxn. In October 2021, it achieved unicorn status following a $52 million Series G funding round led by IIFL AMC. Currently, Licious is not actively seeking additional funding, with co-founders Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta stating that the company has more than $100 million in reserves.
Regarding its initial public offering (IPO) plans, Gupta mentioned that Licious is not in a hurry to go public and will consider a public listing once it achieves consistent profitability for five consecutive years.
