Google India’s gross ad revenue for FY23 has surged by 12.49% year-on-year to Rs 28,040 crore, reinforcing its dominant position in the digital advertising arena driven by Google Search, YouTube, and Chrome, as per the company’s financial details obtained from the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
In the previous fiscal year, the tech giant witnessed a substantial 80% increase in gross ad revenue, reaching Rs 24,926 crore from Rs 13,886 crore in the preceding year.
Google India operates through three revenue segments: resale of advertisement space, sale of enterprise products, and provision of IT and IT-enabled services to its group companies.
Despite a marginal 0.11% decrease in operating revenue to Rs 9,275 crore from Rs 9,286 crore in FY22, Google India’s business underwent a significant restructuring. The company demerged its IT services business to form an independent entity, Google IT Services India. This move, approved by the National Company Law Tribunal in May last year, aimed to streamline Google India’s focus on its core business divisions of advertising and enterprise.
The transfer of Google India’s IT services business to Google IT Services India was effective from April 1, 2021. Notably, Google India paid an equalisation levy of Rs 1,543 crore to the government for purchasing online advertisement space from Google Asia Pacific. In FY22, the entity had paid Rs 22,845 crore to Google Asia Pacific for ad inventory.
Facebook Online India Services, the India arm of Meta, recorded a 13% growth in gross ad revenue to Rs 18,308 crore for FY23, compared to Rs 16,189 crore in FY22.
According to a report by Magna Global, the overall ad spend in India reached Rs 1,09,882 crore in 2023, marking an 11.8% increase from 2022. Digital ad spending also saw a significant rise, reaching Rs 49,883 crore, a growth of 14.2%.
YouTube, boasting 573 million users, is a key contributor to Google India’s gross ad revenue, as indicated by industry sources. TAM Media CEO LV Krishnan highlighted YouTube’s strong presence and user engagement, attributing it to the platform’s attractiveness for both audiences and advertisers in the digital ad market.