Sales of wearables fell almost 40% YoY to INR 550.3 Cr, while revenue from audio products segment saw a mere 5% increase to INR 2,459.2 Cr
Despite the decline in revenue, boAt managed to narrow its loss by 34% to INR 81.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 124.6 Cr in the previous year
boAt expects to turn profitable in FY25 and is eyeing an IPO of INR 2,000 Cr in the next 12-18 months
Audio products and smartwatch maker boAt
saw its consolidated operating revenue fall over 7% to INR 3,117.7 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 3,376.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year, with its wearables category taking a major hit.
Sales of wearables fell almost 40% to INR 550.3 Cr during the year under review from INR 910.6 Cr in FY23.
Meanwhile, boAt’s audio products segment, which accounts for a majority of its total sales, saw a mere 5% increase in revenue to INR 2,459.2 Cr during the year from INR 2,350.8 Cr in FY23.
Sales under its ‘others’ product category also fell about 4% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 105.5 Cr in FY24. Besides audio products and smartwatches, boAt sells mobile accessories such as chargers, cables, and power banks.
However, despite the decline in its revenue, boAt managed to narrow its loss in FY24. The Aman Gupta-led startup’s net loss fell over 38% to INR 79.7 Cr during the year from INR 129.4 Cr in FY23.
Excluding the share of profit/loss of associates and joint ventures, boAt’s loss from continuing operations stood at INR 81.7 Cr as against INR 124.6 Cr in FY23.
Founded by Gupta and Sameer Mehta in 2015, boAt started making its products in India in early 2022. Cofounder and chief marketing officer Gupta claimed earlier that 70% of the startup’s products were made in India as of 2023. boAt is one of the top audio device brands in India, competing with giants like JBL, Sony, Samsung, OnePlus, Noise, and several other emerging new-age startups.
The startup slipped into the red for the first time since its inception in FY23 and reported its second year of loss in FY24. It had claimed that its profitability was impacted in FY23 due to its investments in seeding the smartwatch category and scaling up the ‘Make in India’ infrastructure.
In a recent media interaction, cofounder and CEO Mehta said he expects boAt to become net profitable again in the ongoing fiscal, FY25. The startup is also eyeing an INR 2,000 Cr IPO in the next 12-18 months, he said.
Meanwhile, boAt saw a decline in domestic as well as overseas revenue in FY24. While it sold devices worth INR 3,101.2 Cr in India as against INR 3,239 Cr in FY23, revenue from outside India nosedived almost 89% YoY to INR 13.8 Cr in FY24.
Amid the decline in sales, the startup unveiled a new smartwatch earlier this year, Storm Call 3, equipped with features like independent navigation abilities without the need to rely on smartphones.
Zooming Into Expenses
boAt managed to control its expenses in FY24, in line with the decline in revenue, which helped it reduce its loss. The startup’s total expenses fell over 9% to INR 3,233.6 Cr from INR 3,562.1 Cr in FY23.
Procurement Cost: Procurement of raw materials for making its consumer electronics devices accounted for the largest portion of expenses. However, boAt saw a 10% YoY decline in expenses under the head to INR 2,271.1 Cr in FY24.
In FY23, the startup spent INR 2,526.9 Cr towards purchases of stock in the trade.
Advertising Expenses: boAt also cut down advertising and promotional expenses by 14% to INR 365.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 427.6 Cr in the previous year. It is pertinent to mention that the company’s spending under this head had more than quadrupled in FY23.
Employee Benefit Expenses: Despite an overall decline in its expenses, boAt’s employee costs grew more than 31% to INR 130.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 99.4 Cr in the previous year.
In that, it spent INR 109.6 Cr on salaries and wages and INR 11.1 Cr on employee share-based payments (equity settled).
