SME lender Lendingkart sees marginal fall in FY24 profit

26 Nov 2024, 07:06 PM

Revenue from co-lending - which accounted for 54% of the operating revenue - jumped by 88% to Rs 591 crore in FY24.

Team Head&Tale

Lendingkart’s revenue from operations increased to Rs 1,090 crore in FY24 from Rs 798 crore in FY23, reported Entrackr.

Revenue from co-lending -- which accounted for 54% of the operating revenue -- jumped by 88% to Rs 591 crore in FY24. Revenue from interest on term loans shrank by 2.86% to Rs 407.81 crore FY24, while commission income increased 34x to Rs 22.58 crore in FY24. The Ahmedabad-based NBFC also made Rs 69.15 crore from other operating activities.

The company’s total expenses increased by 49.4% to Rs 1,022.7 crore in FY24 from Rs 684.4 crore in FY23. Finance cost (Rs 293.53 crore) and employee benefit expenses (Rs 199 crore) were major contributors.

The company's profit fell marginally from Rs 185.9 crore in FY23 to Rs 174.9 crore in FY24.

In October, Lendingkart, a digital lending platform focused on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), announced that Fullerton Financial Holdings (FFH), a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Temasek, will acquire a controlling stake in the company.

The deal -- which includes an investment of up to Rs 252 crore ($30 million) -- will help Lendingkart enhance its technology and expand into underserved markets.

Founded in 2014 by Harshvardhan Lunia, Lendingkart has till date secured a total of Rs 1,050 crore ($126 million) in equity from investors, including Fullerton, Bertelsmann, and others. This acquisition marks a significant drop in valuation for Lendingkart, which was valued at approximately $690 million after a recent equity round.

Post the acquisition, Lendingkart’s valuation is expected to be around $100 million. Temasek already holds about 38% of the company before this transaction. 

Lendingkart provides loans averaging Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh; and has disbursed over Rs 18,700 crore to more than 300,000 businesses across 4,100 cities.