Urban Company turns profitable at the PBT level: CEO Bhal
Service marketplace Urban Company turns profitable before tax as boom in Indian segment makes up for costly overseas market.
Service marketplace has turned profitable at the profit-before-tax level, Co-founder Abhiraj Singh Bhal shared on .
Bhal clarified that Urban Company's India business had previously achieved profitability, but its investments in overseas markets had kept the consolidated business in the red. However, now India's profitability offsets the overseas losses, marking the consolidated business profitable at the PBT level.
Bhal shed light on the company’s future plans. The startup will focus on “growing the business profitably and sustainably, while prioritising the interests of all stakeholders: customers, service partners, employees, and shareholders.”
Last year in October, Bhal said "We would like to go public at the right time. Internal preparations have started, but I can't put a firm timeline...I think we are still some distance away, but we would like to be ready,"
Urban Company has a presence in international markets like Saudi Arabia, Singapore and UAE. It had earlier announced that it would sharpen its focus on Tier II markets in India as its forays into 40 new cities.
In FY 2023, the hyperlocal marketplace experienced a significant 45% surge in revenue from operations, reaching Rs 637 crore on a consolidated basis compared to the previous year. Additionally, the startup managed to slash its consolidated losses by approximately 40%, down to Rs 308 crore in the same fiscal year. The Indian business had achieved EBITDA breakeven at an adjusted level in Q1 2024.
Urban Company platform connects customers with registered professionals for services like repair, cleaning and salon services including laser hair removal. The company is also set to launch new services like wall panelling and woodwork, wallpaper application, and premium wall painting. It is also aggressively trying to push subscription-based bathroom cleaning services to ensure regular clients.
The company, in the past year, was also involved in protests by its gig workers, partners, over concerns that constantly changing policies, suspension of ID cards and a costly appeal system. In March, Urban Company disclosed that the average monthly net earnings of all UC service partners witnessed a 17% increase during the latter half of the calendar year 2023 (H2 CY2023) compared to the corresponding period in 2022.
The startup, previously known as Urban Clap, has raised more than $470 million across multiple rounds of funding. It was founded in 2014, and was last valued at $2.18 billion during its last round of funding in 2021. It counts marquee investors like Tiger Global, Prosus and Steadview Capital as its backers.
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti