Info Edge-backed Gramophone GMV shrinks 70% in FY24

Agritech has proven to be a challenging space for entrepreneurs, as it has yet to produce a unicorn, and most venture-backed startups remain far from achieving profitability. While posterboys from the space including Dehaat and Ninjacart managed decent growth and crossed the Rs 2,000 crore GMV mark in FY24, Gurugram-based Gramophone’s gross scale nosedived 69% dueing the fiscal year ending March 2024.

Info Edge-backed Gramophone’s gross revenue (GMV) declined to Rs 98 crore in FY24 from Rs 316 crore in FY23, its consolidated financial statements sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) show.

Founded in 2016 by Nishant Mahatre and Tauseef Khan, Gramophone’s offerings include crop protection, crop nutrition, seeds, equipment, and agri hardware. It also facilitates farmers to sell crops directly through its Gram Vyapaar feature. It claims to serve 50,000 villages and works with more than 2 million farmers and retailers. 

The sale of agri-inputs was the primary source of revenue for the company in the last fiscal year.

Similar to the other agritech firms, the cost of procurement of agri inputs remains the largest cost center, forming 68% of the overall expenditure. As the scale declined, this cost came down by 70% to Rs 90 crore in FY24 from Rs 304 crore in FY23.

Its employee benefits, packaging, advertising, and other operating overheads took the total cost to Rs 133 crore in FY24, down by 64% from Rs 374 crore in FY23. See TheKredible for the detailed cost breakup.

Due to controlled expenditure, the firm’s losses shrank by 41% to Rs 34 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 58 crore in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin worsened to -246% and -31%, respectively. On a unit level, it spent Rs 1.36 to earn a rupee in FY24. Gramophone has a total current assets of 20 crore including the cash and bank balances of Rs 5.5 crore in the previous fiscal.

Gramophone has raised over $20 million to date including its $10 million Series B led by Z3 partners. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Info Edge is the largest external stakeholder with 32.89% followed by Z3 Partners and Siana Capital.