Exclusive: boAt cuts losses by 47% in FY24, revenue holds steady at Rs 3,122 Cr

The consumer electronics company boAt is set to report flat growth in the fiscal year ending March 2024. However, the Gurugram-based firm has managed to narrow its losses by 47% in the same period.

According to an internal document accessed by Entrackr from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), boAt's audited revenue decreased by 5% to Rs 3,122 crore in FY24 from Rs 3,285 crore in FY23.

boAt achieved a positive EBITDA in FY24, marking a return to profitability and signaling stronger unit economics compared to FY23.

boAt derives most of its revenue from the sale of audio devices, including wired and wireless earphones, headphones, speakers, wired headphones, and soundbars. Sales of wearables and other accessories also contribute to the firm's overall revenue.

Despite a modest decline in revenue, the Warburg Pincus-backed firm managed to control its costs, resulting in a 47% reduction in losses, which dropped to Rs 53.5 crore in FY24 from Rs 101 crore in FY23.

The performance of boAt's audio business remained flat in H2 FY24, as per the document. In the wearables segment, a steep decline in average selling price, coupled with fierce competition, led to margin pressure.

“The revenue of the audio business continues to do well and has increased by 5% in FY24. The EBITDA of the audio business increased to 9% in FY24.” the document further added. boAt also expects to increase its EBITDA margins during the ongoing fiscal year with multiple initiatives such as warranty cost optimization, reduction in advertisement and promotion cost, among others.

Founded by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta in 2015, boAt has raised a total funding of $177 million to date from investors including Qualcomm Ventures, Warburg Pincus, InnoVen Capital, Navi Technologies, and Fireside Ventures.

According to IDC research, the Indian wearables market experienced its first-ever decline, dropping 10% in the June 2024 quarter to 29.5 million units. This decline is attributed to a surplus of unsold older models and a lack of innovation within the segment.

The report highlighted that Oppo and OnePlus experienced the most significant year-on-year shipment decline, falling by 35.8%. Following them, Fire-Boltt saw a 24.3% decrease in wearable shipments, Noise reported a drop of 13.9%, and boAt experienced a 9.8% YoY decline.