Eruditus narrows losses; revenue surges 75% YoY in FY23

Edtech unicorn Eruditus has narrowed its losses by more than half and sharply increased its revenue in FY 2022-23 compared to the previous fiscal year, driven by growth in enterprise business.

The Mumbai-based firm’s net loss was Rs 1,049 crore in FY23—a fall of 66.1% from Rs 3,094 crore in the previous fiscal period, according to Eruditus. The company follows a July-June financial year calendar.

Meanwhile, the edtech company witnessed a second year of sharp revenue growth despite the edtech sector going through a turbulent period. Eruditus clocked Rs 3,322 crore in revenue in FY23, a 75% increase from the Rs 1,900 crore earned in FY22, it said.

The firm, led by Ashwin Damera, managed to curtail expenses—with total expenditure (excluding finance cost and taxes) down 17% in FY23 compared to the previous fiscal. 

The company said its adjusted EBITDA (excluding non-cash expenses such as depreciation, amortisation, and expense for share appreciation rights) loss was Rs 422 crore in FY23, down from a loss of Rs 1,288 crore in the year ago-period. 

EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, is a measure of core operational efficiency.

Also Read

Edtech’s roller-coaster year: The BYJU’S conundrum and industry realities

Eruditus’ FY23 numbers come at a time when the company is evaluating a reverse flip to India from Singapore, according to a person familiar with the matter. Typically, companies might consider relocating or 'flipping' their domicile for various reasons such as tax advantages, regulatory environment, or strategic business considerations.

Eruditus considering a shift in domicile was first reported by The Economic Times.

Based on FY23 financials, Eruditus has managed to retain its position as the second-largest revenue-grossing edtech firm. Although BYJU’S has not reported its FY23 financials, the Bengaluru-based firm is said to have clocked about Rs 5,000 crore in consolidated revenue in FY22.

upGrad registered a revenue of Rs 1,194 crore for FY 2023, Unacademy Rs 907 crore, BYJU’S-owned Great Learning Rs 801 crore, PhysicsWallah Rs 798 crore, and Simplilearn Rs 701 crore.

The SoftBank-backed firm is also on track to achieve its revenue and EBITDA margin targets for the ongoing financial year (FY 2023-24), Co-founder and CEO Damera told YourStory. It projects a revenue of about Rs 4,200 crore in FY24 and targets turning EBITDA-positive with a margin of Rs 240-270 crore.

Founded by Damera and Chaitanya Kalipatnapu in 2010, Eruditus offers executive-level courses from top universities. It has collaborated with universities across the US, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India, and China.

The company, which has focused on skilling courses for working professionals, is also exploring the study abroad segment in the ongoing fiscal, as per Damera.

Eruditus has raised a total funding of ~$814 million over seven rounds, as per Tracxn. It raised its largest round of $650 million in August 2021. In March 2022, it received $350 million in debt financing from CPP Investments. Eruditus was last valued at $3.2 billion in August 2021.

The company is looking at fundraising which will include a secondary component of about $60-100 million, according to the Eruditus chief.