BharatPe, a fintech unicorn, achieved its highest-ever gross revenue of $23.5 million in August 2023, largely driven by revenue from its lending business and its expansion into services like Point of Sale devices. This growth in revenue will support the company’s plans for a public listing and comes after a tumultuous year marked by the exit of co-founder Ashneer Grover.
The company also reported an annualized revenue run rate (ARR) of $282 million in August 2023, up 5.4 times from August 2021 when it last raised its Series E funding of $370 million. BharatPe reported an ARR of $270 million in June 2023.
While BharatPe’s revenues are on the rise, the company noted that its EBITDA burn was approximately $1.3 million in August. In FY22, BharatPe reported a loss of INR 5,594 crore, and the dispute with its former managing director, Ashneer Grover, further fueled controversies, with accounting norms being cited as the reason for a significant portion of the loss.
BharatPe is witnessing healthy growth in its lending business, with Assets Under Management recorded at $85 million as of August 2023. The company’s active merchant base grew from 1.8 million in 2021 to 3.1 million in August 2023. BharatPe is one of the early entrants in the Point of Sale (PoS) device market and has around 200,000 PoS machines across 400 Indian cities. In August 2023, the company announced plans to scale up its PoS business, launching integrated inventory, billing, and payment solutions for specific industry segments.
The company acquired a 51% stake in the Mumbai-based non-banking financial company (NBFC) Trillion Loans in May 2023, expanding its offerings to small businesses and retail customers. Despite internal conflicts and executive changes, BharatPe’s growth in the lending and PoS business seems to be on an upward trajectory, positioning the company for a potential public listing.
