Chennai-based education technology platform Veranda Learning Solutions has turned EBITDA positive for the first time. The company has posted an EBITDA of ₹5.64 crore for the first quarter as against a negative EBITDA of ₹13 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. In Q4FY23, it recorded a negative EBITDA of ₹20 crore.
EBITDA refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation and positive EBITDA means that the company is profitable at operating level earning more than what it expends.
The company’s consolidated net loss slightly narrowed to ₹19 crore in Q1FY24 as against ₹20 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. However, its net losses were much lower than ₹39 crore recorded in the previous quarter. Consolidated revenue from operations of the company more than doubled during the quarter to ₹69 crore (₹28 crore) during the latest quarter.
Suresh Kalpathi, Executive Director and Chairman, Veranda Learning Solutions said that the slew of acquisitions made last year are beginning to show results in the form of higher revenues and positive EBITDA.
Founded in 2018 by the Kalpathi AGS Group, Veranda Learning Solutions offers training programmes for competitive exam preparation, including State Public Service Commission, Banking, Insurance, Railways, IAS, and CA, and upskilling programmes through its acquired subsidiaries including Veranda RACE, Edureka and others. The company also forayed into Chartered Accountancy coaching by acquiring JK Shah Classes last year. In May, the company acquired seven companies valued at ₹400 crore.
“It’s a demonstration of how well we can integrate and grow these businesses,” Kalpathi told businessline. He added that the company is now looking to hit a pro forma EBITDA of over ₹100 crore in FY24.
Kalpathi said Veranda RACE and JK Shah are the strongly performing business units for the company while the online upskilling course provider Edureka also turned from loss making to profitable one during the current quarter.
On Wednesday, shares of Veranda Learning closed at ₹214 on NSE, 2 per cent higher than previous day’s closing price.