Rapido posts wider FY23 loss, threefold growth in revenue

Ride-hailing firm Rapido posted a 54% wider loss of Rs 675 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2023, even as operating revenue tripled to Rs 443 crore.In FY22, the firm had incurred a loss of Rs 439 crore on operating revenue of Rs 145 crore, according to regulatory filings made by the company. Expenses almost doubled to Rs 1,172 crore in FY23, compared with the Rs 597 crore the previous year.

Incentives and related charges, which constitute payments to riders and is usually the largest cost component for the firm, came up to Rs 517 crore in FY23, more than double of what it paid out in FY22.

Employee benefit expenses rose to Rs 207 crore from Rs 107 crore, while it also spent Rs 240 crore on advertising and promotional expenses, against Rs 177 crore in FY22.At ANI Technologies, the parent of rival ride-hailing startup Ola Cabs, the standalone loss narrowed by 65% to Rs 1,082 crore in FY23, while sales rose 63% to Rs 1,987.5 crore.

Uber India, on the other hand, saw its net loss widen to Rs 311 crore from Rs 197 crore in FY22. Operating revenue, however, climbed 54% to Rs 2,666 crore.

Besides Ola and Uber, Rapido also competes with the likes of Blusmart, Indrive, Shoffr and Namma Yatri in the Indian ride-hailing space. On December 26, ET reported how some of the new platforms and services were attempting to challenge the larger incumbents Uber and Ola by aiming to address the gaps in customer service and driver satisfaction.In late 2023, Rapido started expanding its cab services to providing cars, beyond the two-wheeler bike taxis and auto rickshaws that were its mainstays.

The car-hailing service is available in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and the company aims to expand across India by the middle of 2024, cofounder Pavan Guntupalli said in December. The firm is currently using a subscription model with its cab drivers, unlike the commission models employed by Uber and Ola, but similar to that of Namma Yatri.

Rapido claims to be active in over 100 cities with over 10 million customers and over 1 million riders and drivers. The firm last raised $180 million at a valuation of $830 million in April 2022. The funding round was led by Swiggy, with participation from two-wheeler maker TVS Motor and venture capital firms West Bridge Capital and Nexus Venture Partners.