Fintech unicorn Pine Labs saw its consolidated net loss more than double to INR 56.2 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 22.6 Cr reported in the previous fiscal, primarily due to a big difference in the deferred tax expense.
As per the filings of Pine Labs Pvt Ltd with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the company’s operating revenue surpassed the INR 1,000 Cr mark in the year ended March 31, 2023. Revenue from operations grew 37% to INR 1,280.5 Cr during the year under review from INR 932.3 Cr in FY22.
With a core business of facilitating digital payments through its point-of-sale (PoS) terminals, Pine Labs earns a majority of its revenue from sale of services, which stood at INR 1,013.8 Cr in FY23 as against INR 733.8 Cr in the prior year.
Besides, it also earns by selling its PoS devices. Pine Labs’ total revenue from sale of products declined over 4% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 33 Cr in FY23.
The company categorises its primary revenue sources into buckets – digital payments and issuing.
In digital payments, Pine Labs earns from its electronic payment and transaction processing services provided to the merchants, revenue derived from aggregator services, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services, cashback services, subscription-based services, and sales of hardware and other peripherals for digitisation of fuel stations, among others.
In issuing business, Pine Labs earns from gift solutions and breakage revenue, among others. It must be noted that the fintech major also acquired the digital gift card startup Qwikcilver Solutions in FY23 to further strengthen its domestic and international market reach. Early last year, Pine Labs also acquired Saluto Wellness Private Limited’s proprietary enterprise platform to boost its issuing business under the Qwikcilver brand.
Including interest income, income from government grants and subsidies, excess provisions written back, and others, Pine Labs’ total revenue increased over 38% YoY to INR 1,327.5 Cr in FY23.
On the other hand, the company’s revenue from India grew to INR 1,253.7 Cr in FY23 from INR 914.5 Cr in the previous fiscal. Its income from other global markets grew 51% YoY to INR 268.7 Cr in FY23.
While Pine Labs’ net loss witnessed a sharp jump due to deferred tax expense, the company’s profit before tax witnessed a marginal rise to INR 74.7 Cr in FY23 from INR 74.5 Cr the year before.
Deferred tax expenses stood at INR 18.56 Cr in FY23 against INR 52.58 Cr in the previous year.
Zooming Into Expenses
In line with the rise in revenue, the fintech company’s total expenses jumped 35.8% to INR 1,402.2 Cr from INR 1,032.3 Cr in FY22.
Employee Benefit Expenses: Pine Labs spent INR 606.7 Cr on employee costs in FY23, which was a 35.4% jump from INR 448.2 Cr in the previous year.
In that, INR 493.1 Cr was spent on salaries and wages. The company’s spending towards employee share-based payment (equity settled) increased to INR 86.3 Cr in FY23 from INR 66.8 Cr in the prior fiscal.
Impairment Losses: Pine Labs’ spending towards impairment losses on trade and other receivables increased 43.5% YoY to INR 459.6 Cr in the reported fiscal.
Cost Of Materials Consumed: The company spent INR 56.3 Cr in this bucket as against INR 48.2 Cr in FY22.
Legal Professional Charges: Pine Labs’ expenses in this bucket grew over 59% to INR 114.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 72 Cr in the year before.
Pine Labs has raised over a billion dollars in funding over the years and is backed by marquee names such as Alpha Wave Ventures, MasterCard, Peak XV, and State Bank of India.
Last month, the fintech major unveiled a new offering named Credit+, which is a credit issuance platform to help banks, fintech companies, and merchants for quick roll-out of credit card schemes.
Among many late-stage Indian startups moving their domicile to India, especially ahead of their IPOs, Pine Labs is also one of them.
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