Byju’s revenue growth slows in FYE 2021, losses widen by 12.5x

After a delay of nearly 18 months, Indian edtech major Byju’s has finally released its earnings for the financial year ended March 2021 (FYE 2021).

Byju’s total revenue dipped marginally by just over 3% to 24.3 billion rupees (about US$305 million) during the year, as per the company’s filings reviewed by Tech in Asia.

However, its revenue from operations only inched up 4% to US$286.4 million. This came on the back of slow growth in the sale of its hardware products, which is typically its largest source of revenue, accounting for over 80% of the company’s consolidated top line.

In FYE 2021, Byju’s operating loss widened by 12.5x to US$577.7 million. This was due to a 2.5x surge in promotion expenses, bringing it up to US$282.7 million. Employee benefits expenses also climbed 4.5x to US$244 million during the same period.

This pushed the edtech firm to post a net loss of US$576 million in FYE 2021 – an increase of nearly 20x from a year earlier.

Byju’s founder and CEO Byju Raveendran attributed this to a slowdown in growth due to changes in the way revenue was recognized as well as certain earnings being pushed to the next financial year, according to an Economic Times report.  He also said that about 40% of the revenue was deferred to FYE 2022, with loss-making acquisitions dragging the company’s bottom line lower.

In an interview with Live Mint, Raveendran said that the company recorded a 150% growth in revenue in FYE 2022 and plans to turn cash flow positive by the first quarter of next year.

Founder Byju Raveendran / Photo credit: Byju’s

While Byju’s units, Aakash and Greater Learning, have doubled their revenue run rate since they’ve been acquired, WhiteHat Jr – which Byju’s bought in 2020 for US$300 million – underperformed in FYE 2022.

See also: Byju’s aims to be profitable by FYE 2022 despite acquisition spree

Over the past few months, the company has come under scrutiny over its alleged revenue recognition practices. For instance, it delayed filing its financials, as its auditor, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, had not signed off on its numbers. This even brought forth questions of Byju’s being overvalued.

See also: The $22b question on Byju’s valuation

Last month, India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs also questioned the firm over the delay in filing its financial results.