Flipkart-owned online travel aggregator Cleartrip witnessed a nearly 2X jump in its net loss in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The Bengaluru-based startup’s net loss surged 90% to INR 676.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 356.5 Cr in the previous financial year.
The company’s loss widened despite a dip in its operating revenue. Cleartrip’s operating revenue stood at INR 49.8 Cr in FY23, a decline of 10% from INR 55.3 Cr in FY22. It earns revenue by charging a service fee on booking of flight tickets and hotel rooms.
Including other income, Cleartrip’s total revenue stood at INR 96.7 Cr during the year under review, down 17% from INR 117 Cr in the previous fiscal year.
Founded in 2006 by Hrush Bhatt, Matthew Spacie and Stuart Crighton, Cleatrip was acquired by Walmart-owned Flipkart in 2021 for $40 Mn in a distressed sale. Cleartrip is an online travel aggregator that allows users to book flight tickets and hotels.
How Cleartrip Spent Money?
While its revenue dipped, Cleartrip’s expenses continued to climb. Total expenses stood at INR 773.2 Cr in FY23, a jump of 63% from INR 473.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year.
Employee Benefit Costs Biggest Expense: Employee benefit expenses accounted for 68% of the overall expenses. Employee costs surged 174% to INR 247.1 Cr in FY23 from INR 90.2 Cr in FY22. As per LinkedIn, Cleartrip has around 1,000 employees.
Marketing Expense Rise: The company’s spending on advertising doubled to INR 184 Cr in FY23 from INR 92 Cr in FY22.
Payment Gateway Charges: Cleartrip spent INR 76 Cr on payment gateway charges in FY23. However, it didn’t disclose the amount it spent on it in the previous fiscal year.
On a unit economics basis, the company spent INR 15 to earn every single rupee from operations.
Last year, Cleartrip was hit by a data breach. In an email sent to its customers on July 18, 2022, the company said personal details of some customers were leaked but no sensitive information was compromised.
“This is to inform you that there has been a security anomaly that entailed illegal and unauthorised access to a part of Cleartrip’s internal systems,” the email read.
Flipkart forayed into the hotel-booking space last year, piggybacking on the vast hotel network of Cleartrip.
Currently, Cleartrip competes with the likes of IPO-bound Ixigo, EaseMyTrip, MakeMyTrip, and Ibibo.
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