Zerodha crosses $1B in revenue in FY24; profit up 89%

Online brokerage platform Zerodha saw its net profit increase 89% to Rs 5,496 crore in the financial year ended March 2024, buoyed by strong growth in revenue. The company also managed to trim its expenses.

However, Zerodha expects a 10% revenue dip this fiscal year due to SEBI's new fee circular and a potential 30-50% drop in revenue from regulation on index derivatives. This has prompted the company to diversify into margin trade funding, investments, and loan-against-securities services, according to a blog post by Co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath in September.

In FY24, net profit reached Rs 5,496 crore from Rs 2,908 crore last fiscal year. Revenue from operations rose by 37.16% to Rs 9,372 crore or a little over $1.1 billion in FY24, compared to Rs 6,832 crore in FY23.

Total income, which includes other gains, surged 45.32% to Rs 9,994 crore from Rs 6,877 crore in the previous fiscal year.

The company saw a significant 24% drop in employee benefit expenses to Rs 473.96 crore.

Meanwhile, other expenses rose by 11% to Rs 2,619 crore, driven by a 28% increase in information technology expenses to Rs 492 crore. Exchange and depository charges, a key operational cost, surged 42% to Rs 14,756 crore as trading volumes climbed.

Its competitor Groww has reported consolidated revenue of Rs 3,145 crore for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, marking a 119% growth compared to Rs 1,435 crore in FY22-23.

The Bengaluru-based company's operational profitability also improved, with an operating profit of Rs 535 crore for FY24, up from Rs 458 crore the previous year. Groww reported a net loss of Rs 805 crore for FY24, primarily due to a one-time tax expense of Rs 1,340 crore related to the company’s recent move to domicile in India.