Cleartrip’s net loss jumped 18.5% to INR 810.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 683.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year
Operating revenue almost doubled to INR 97.2 Cr during the year under review from INR 49.4 Cr in FY23
If not for discounts, Cleartrip’s revenue would have been INR 622.2 Cr
Flipkart-owned online travel aggregator Cleartrip’s net loss jumped 18.5% to INR 810.3 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 683.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year, despite a surge in its top line.
Cleartrip’s operating revenue almost doubled to INR 97.2 Cr during the year under review from INR 49.4 Cr in FY23. However, if not for discounts, its revenue would have been INR 622.2 Cr. The company gave INR 524.9 Cr worth of discounts in FY24 as against INR 441.1 Cr in the previous fiscal.
Founded by Hrush Bhatt, Matthew Spacie and Stuart Crighton in 2006, Cleartrip was acquired by ecommerce giant Flipkart in 2021.
The company, which allows users to book flight and bus tickets and hotels, earned INR 368.7 Cr from service charges in FY24 and INR 240.5 Cr from commissions and incentives.
Cleartrip’s losses have been mounting ever since it was acquired by Flipkart. Compared with the company’s loss of INR 25.3 Cr in FY21, its loss has surged 3,100%. However, revenue has increased only 23% over this period.
Meanwhile, the company has seen multiple leadership exits as well. For instance, the company’s chief executive officer (CEO) Ayyappan Rajagopal resigned at the start of 2024. Cleartrip’s chief financial officer (CFO) Aditya Agarwal also stepped down from his role in April this year owing to personal reasons.
In September, its chief business officer (CBO) Prahlad Krishnamurthi also quit to join Bizongo’s procurement platform NextBuy as its CEO.
Breaking Down Cleartrip’s Expenses
Cleartrip’s expenses during the period under review jumped 26.7% to INR 988.2 Cr from INR 780.1 Cr in the previous fiscal.
On a unit economics basis, the company spent over INR 10 to earn every rupee from operations in FY24. However, this was an improvement from the INR 15 it spent to earn every rupee from operations in FY23.
Advertising & Promotional: The travel aggregator managed to reduce its advertising and promotional expenses by 30% during the year under review to INR 128.4 Cr from INR 183.7 Cr in FY23.
Employee Benefit Expenses: Employee costs jumped 61.29% to INR 400 Cr in FY24 from INR 248 Cr in previous year.
Under this, ESOP expenses rose 140% to INR 185.2 Cr from INR 77 Cr in the previous fiscal.
Payment Gateway Charges: The company spent INR 90.6 Cr under this head in FY24, up 19.37% from INR 75.9 Cr in FY23.
