Flipkart Internet revenue up 32% to Rs 6,318 cr; losses increase 19%

The revenue of the company is mainly generated from e-commerce, information technology-enabled services, marketplace and related support service

Walmart-owned Flipkart Internet Private Limited, which operates as an online shopping website, reported a 32 per cent jump  in its revenues for the financial year 2019-20 (FY20) at Rs 6,318 crore as compared to the last financial year. The company further reported a net loss of Rs 1,937 crore during the same period. This is a 19 per cent increase from the previous financial year, showed regulatory documents sourced from business intelligence platform Tofler. The company’s total expenses during the period under consideration were at Rs 8,254 crore.

The revenue of the company was mainly generated from e-commerce, IT-enabled services, marketplace and related support services. The majority chunk of the business comes from marketplace and logistic operations.

The company offered 493,421 shares based on 'rights issue' to existing shareholders in March this year. The number of sexual harassment received and filed was 18 in the current financial year, according to the documents. Of which, 18 (including the ones filed in the previous financial year ) were disposed of.

The company’s disputed statutory dues from FY 2012-13 to FY 2018-19 was Rs 104.62 crore, of which Rs 2.15 crore was paid under protest. The forums where these disputes are pending include the High Court of Kerala and Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).

According to the documents, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had directed an investigation against the company for alleged anti-competitive practices. The firm has obtained a stay on the investigation from the Karnataka High Court. An appeal has been filed before the said High Court by the opposite parties and the matter is pending.

Experts said that Flipkart’s future revenues were going to improve, as the Covid-19 pandemic had accelerated a shift to e-commerce, with an increasing number of consumers shopping online at a higher frequency. Flipkart and its rival Amazon, besides others, witnessed blockbuster festive-season sales this year. India’s online festive sale in one month (during October-November) stood at $8.3 billion in gross sales, including for brands and sellers – up 65 per cent year-on-year – exceeding forecasts, according to a report by consulting firm RedSeer.

Early this month, Flipkart India Private Limited, the wholesale arm of the e-commerce marketplace, reported a revenue of Rs 34,610 crore for the financial year 2019-20 – an increase of 12 per cent over the previous year. Its net loss during the year, at Rs 3,150 crore, dropped 18 per cent from 2018-19.

Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer of Walmart Inc, recently said that the retailer is happy with its investments in Flipkart and PhonePe. He said the retail market in India is projected to grow to over $1 trillion by 2025. The Bentonville-based company (in Arkansas) is locked in a battle with US rival Jeff Bezos-led Amazon and Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance’s JioMart for dominance in India’s online retail market through Flipkart, which it bought for $16 billion in 2018. In July, Walmart led a $1.2-billion investment in Flipkart, valuing the e-commerce firm at $24.9 billion.

McMillon said India is a remarkably competitive environment and e-commerce only accounts for about 4 per cent of total retail in the country. He said there are a number of companies competing in the market, including Amazon, Reliance, Snapdeal, and Paytm and the competition is good as it would improve services and bring down costs for consumers.