PhysicsWallah, an edtech unicorn, announced a remarkable 3.4-fold surge in revenue during the fiscal year 2022-2023, reaching Rs 798.03 crore, attributing the growth to expanded offline outreach, as stated on December 29.
This substantial leap from Rs 232.47 crore in the previous fiscal year and Rs 24.6 crore in FY21 solely represents PhysicsWallah’s standalone revenue, excluding subsidiary income. The company clarified that revenue from subsidiaries, though not a significant part of its earnings presently, is anticipated to play a more substantial role in the upcoming financial year. Additionally, PhysicsWallah disclosed acquiring approximately eight companies in FY23.
Despite these gains, the net profit witnessed a decline, dropping to Rs 16.05 crore in FY23 from Rs 97.8 crore in the prior year, reflecting an 84 percent decrease. A company spokesperson clarified, “But these factor in non-cash expenditures of Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), lease equalization reserve (LER), and inventory provision… Hence, a Rs 127 crore EBITDA in FY23 compared to 134 in FY22.”
The company highlighted a surge in total expenses to Rs 777 crore in FY23, encompassing non-cash expenditures, and employee costs escalating nearly ninefold to Rs 367.9 crore (excluding ESOP costs) from Rs 42 crore in the previous year.
PhysicsWallah emphasized that over one-third of its revenue upsurge originated from venturing into offline services, aligning with the trend of a return to physical learning experiences among Indian edtech firms, particularly in test preparation segments.
Prateek Maheshwari, co-founder of PhysicsWallah, asserted, “Our growth was significant both in the online and offline space… We will keep investing in more categories – across study abroad, PG test prep, skills, foundation.”
Furthermore, the company revealed plans to expand to over 120 centers through its Vidyapeeth (offline vertical) and Pathshala (hybrid), aiming to enroll 2.5 lakh students by the 2024-25 academic year, up from 1.4 lakh in 2023-24.
As of March 2023, the company reported cash reserves of Rs 750 crore, withholding details on the updated data for the year ending 2023.
