Awfis ends FY22 with Rs 257 Cr revenue and positive EBITDA

Co-working solutions provider Awfis was mulling to go public in the middle of this calendar year but the timeline appears to have been extended in the wake of tough market conditions. The deferment of its potential IPO might not be such a bad call in retrospect, especially if it gets to the Rs 600 crore revenue it is eyeing for FY23.

While the actual numbers of FY23 will be known  when the company files its financial numbers for the ongoing fiscal, the Sequoia-backed company’s scale grew 44.1% to Rs 257.04 crore during FY22, according to the consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies.

Awfis provides workspace solutions for freelancers to startups, SMEs, large and multinational corporations. Income from co-working services was the sole source of revenue for the Delhi-based company in the last fiscal.

At last count, it claims to have co-working spaces across over 150 centers and 88,000 seats across 15 cities. Awfis also earned some  income from interest on fixed deposits which decreased 42.2% to Rs 21.77 crore in FY22.

With its asset heavy model,  Awfis bore high depreciation and amortization costs, forming 29.3% of its overall expenditure. This expense surged 13.4% to Rs 98.43 crore in the last fiscal.

Employee benefit expense accounted for 16.1% of the total cost which spiked 70.1% to Rs 54.15 crore in FY22 from Rs 31.83 crore in FY21.

The company has non-current liabilities of Rs 536.54 crore ending 31st March 2022. As a result, its finance cost (interest expenses)stood at an acceptable Rs 48.71 crore in the last fiscal year. Rent and repair cost jointly increased by 18.6% to Rs 37.27 crore in the last fiscal year.

Awfis added another Rs 41.86 crore on subcontracting costs which pushed its overall expenditure by 29.8% to Rs 335.87 crore in FY22 from Rs 258.66 crore in FY21.

At the end, Awfis’s losses spiked 34% to Rs 57.15 crore in FY22 from Rs 42.64 crore in FY21. Importantly, after the exclusion of depreciation/amortization and finance costs, Awfis’s EBITDA slipped marginally to Rs 89.99 crore during the last fiscal year as compared to Rs 90.74 crore in FY21

Moving to the ratios, its ROCE and EBITDA margin were registered at -7.79% and 32.28% during the last fiscal year. On a unit level, Awfis spent Rs 1.31 to earn a single unit of operating revenue in FY22.

With its contrarian, asset heavy approach to the market, Awfis has taken a more 'Indian' approach to the co-working business. The high debt is one other aspect of this approach. However, a good show in Fy23 as promised might ensure the firm has the last laugh, especially if it culminates with a successful IPO. The only crimp might be the rising interest rate environment, which could push back profits significantly, if the firm doesn't go public soon. Watch this space to see how it all works out at Awfis.