VerSe's revenue grew by 57% to Rs 1,809 cr; burn reduced by 34% in FY23

VerSe Innovation, India's biggest local language technology platform, said its total revenue grew by 57 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,809 crore in FY23 from Rs 1,151 crore in FY22. VerSe's solid growth and controlled expenditure resulted in the reduction of burn by 34 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,448 crore in FY23 (excluding non-cash expense) from Rs 2,189 crore in FY22 (excluding non-cash expense).

Its content platform Dailyhunt clocked a revenue of over Rs 1,200 crore and was Ebitda positive in FY23, with the financial year exiting at 10 per cent Ebitda. The company's video platform Josh began monetisation in H2FY23 and exited at an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of over Rs 300 crore while reducing burn at the same time.

VerSe's operating revenue grew by 51 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,457 crore in FY23 from Rs 965 crore in FY22. The firm also made Rs 352 crore of revenue from non-operating activities.

On the costs side, the cost of services accounted for 45 per cent of the overall expenditure. This increased by 19 per cent to Rs 1,673 crore in FY23 from Rs 1,410 crore in FY22. The second largest expense item was business promotional expenses, which accounted for 27 per cent of the overall expenditure. This reduced by 22 per cent to Rs 997 crore in FY23 from Rs 1,284 crore in FY22.

Employee benefit expenses, which accounted for 22 per cent of the overall expenditure, grew on account of Rs 460 crore of employee stock option plan (ESOP) cost (non-cash). While these expenses reduced on a cash basis, they actually resulted in an 11 per cent year-on-year growth in total employee benefit expenses, from Rs 731 crore in FY22 to Rs 811 crore in FY23. VerSe's significant control of expenses resulted in overall expenses remaining flat year-on-year despite a significant spike in revenue.