BigBasket’s B2B biz scales 39% in FY22, losses shrink 58%

BigBasket is undeniably the largest e-grocer in India with collection of  Rs 8,502 crore from its B2B and consumer facing businesses during FY22. Unlike its B2C business [Innovative Retail Concept] which grew 17% in the last fiscal year, its B2B unit’s [Supermarket Grocery Supplies] scale surged 39% to Rs 1,707 crore in FY22 from Rs 1,227.7 crore in FY21.

Apart from notable growth, Supermarket Grocery Supplies [B2B] also narrowed down losses to the tune of 58% in FY22 whereas BigBasket’s B2C arm’s losses soared 4X during the same period. 

Grocery and household goods products remained the major source of income for Bigbasket B2B arm constituting 98.6% of the total operating revenue which soared 38.7% to Rs 1,683.2 crore in FY22 from Rs 1,213.4 crore in FY21, as per Supermarket Grocery Supplies’ annual financial statements with RoC.

The Bengaluru-based company also derived income from advertisements hosted on its mobile application and website which shot up 88% to Rs 22.86 crore in FY22. Supermarket Grocery Supplies’ revenue break-up can be seen in the below piechart.

Caveat: In February, Supermarket Grocery Supplies [B2B unit] revealed to the regulator [RoC] that it had churned Rs 6,558 crore in operating revenue in FY21. On the contrary, while filing financial statements for FY22, it disclosed that its revenue for the B2B unit stood at Rs 1,227 crore in FY21.

According to BigBasket’s latest filings, its consolidated revenue had crossed Rs 8,502 crore in FY22 [Rs 1,707 crore via B2B (standalone) and Rs 7,098 crore via B2C (standalone)] whereas its losses stood at Rs 1,041 crore. However, when we considered its FY21 filings, the consolidated operating revenue stood at around Rs 12,600 crore (Rs 6,558 crore via B2B and Rs 6,037 crore via B2C). Taking this data, the company’s scale in fact shrank by over 45% in FY22 [Rs 8502 crore] as compared to FY21 [Rs 12,600 crore].

Entrackr’s detailed queries sent to BigBasket on Tuesday didn’t elicit any response. We will carry their inputs in the story as and when they respond.

In line with revenue, the total cost of BigBasket’s B2B unit also surged 41% to Rs 1,925 crore in FY22 from Rs 1,363.6 crore in the preceding financial year (FY21). Cost of procuring goods stood as the largest cost centre for the company, contributing 84% of the total expenses which grew 40% to Rs 1,615.47 crore in FY22 from Rs 1155.46 crore in FY21.

Employee benefit expenses were the second largest cost for the company followed by cost of material consumed, forming 7.5% of the overall expenses. This cost shot up 2.5X to Rs 144.3 crore in FY22 from Rs 58 crore in FY21. In FY22, B2B unit of BigBasket spent Rs 28.5 crore on transportation and Rs 14.54 crore subcontractor charges whereas its costs on advertising remained flat.

It’s worth noting that BigBasket’s B2B arm had booked a loss of Rs 273 crore (loss from discontinued operations) in FY21 but this figure stood at Rs 9.3 crore in FY22. The sharp reduction in the expense of this exceptional item helped Supermarket Grocery Supplies to better unit economics. Its losses shrank by 57.7% to Rs 178 crore in FY22 as compared to Rs 421 crore in previous fiscal year (FY21).

The Tata Digital-controlled company recorded positive cashflow of Rs 848.5 crore in FY22. On a unit level, Supermarket Grocery Supplies has spent Rs 1.13 crore to earn a single unit of operating revenue in FY22.