Edtech major BYJU’s has filed its much delayed audited financial accounting for the year ended March 2022. It has reported 2.3 times growth in revenue to ₹3,569 crore from ₹1552 crore in the previous year. The results are that of Byju’s core business operations and do not include its acquisitions.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation-based loss of the core business was down from ₹2,406 crore to ₹2,253 crore in FY22, as per a statement from the company.
The margin had improved -63 per cent in FY22 from -155 per cent in FY21, the statement added.
“The takeaways from a uniquely belligerent year, which included nine acquisitions, are life- long learnings. The core business has demonstrated good growth, underlining the potential of edtech in India, the fastest-growing major economy. I am also humbled by the lessons learnt in the post-pandemic world of readjustments. BYJU’S will continue on the path of sustainable and profitable growth in the coming years,” said founder and group CEO Byju Raveendran.
Byju’s filed its FY21 results after an 18-month delay which showed readjusted revenue of ₹2,280 crore and a loss of ₹4,588 crore.
The financial audited results was a key concern of some of the ectech major’s investors, lenders. Lenders have provided a $1.2 billion term loan to the firm. Byju’s also saw exits of exits of Peak XV, Prosus and another investor, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, from the company’s board. The company’s pervious auditor Deloitte hasd resigned citing the delay of finaicial results.
Chief executive Byju Raveendran and chief financial officer Ajay Goel promised shareholders on June 24 that the audited results for FY22 would be shared by the end of September and those for FY23 would be ready by December this year.
Byju’s, which did not have a full-time Chief Financial Officer for almost two years, had roped in Ajay Goel, a former Vedanta executive in April as its CFO.
In June, Deloitte, Byju’s long-standing auditor, which flagged concerns with the company’s revenue recognition methods for its accounts in FY21, also resigned citing delay in producing FY22 results. The company, touted as India’s most-valued startup, onboarded BDO then.
Byju’s lenders
Byju’s also encountered difficulties in managing its $1.2 billion term loan B with international creditors. These creditors accelerated the repayment schedule late last year due to technical defaults on the loan.
In September this year, after months of negotiations with lenders, Byju’s proposed to repay the entire $1.2 billion loan within six months, with an initial payment of $300 million within three months. Byju’s put two of its key assets, the upskilling platform Great Learning and the US-based book reading platform Epic, up for sale, with expectations of generating approximately $800 million from the sale, reported businesslike.
Earlier businessline reported, lenders, who hold a 60 per cent claim on Great Learning, appointed the risk advisory firm Kroll to protect the company’s assets, particularly in the event of a management buyout.