Cult.fit posts Rs 1,216 Cr revenue and Rs 481 Cr loss in FY25

Fitness tech company Cult.fit reported over 31% year-on-year growth in operating revenue for the fiscal year ended March 2025, while its losses narrowed by 10% to Rs 481 crore during the period, as the company gears up for an initial public offering (IPO).

Cult.fit reported an operating revenue of Rs 1,215.5 crore in FY25 compared to Rs 926.6 crore in FY24, according to its consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Revenue from fitness subscriptions, including flagship offerings such as Cultpass, Cult.fit centres, and platform services, accounted for 73% of total revenue which increased by 32.7% year-on-year to Rs 889 crore in FY25.

The sale of products, including sportswear for men and women as well as other gym and fitness products, contributed Rs 326.4 crore to total revenue, with the segment’s revenue rising 27% compared to FY24.

Cult.fit also earned Rs 56.5 crore from other income, including interest on current investments and miscellaneous non-operating sources, taking its total revenue to Rs 1,272 crore in FY25.

Coming to expenses, employee benefit costs remained largely flat at Rs 347.4 crore in the last fiscal, including Rs 99.5 crore ESOP expenses. Meanwhile, Cult.fit’s cost of materials rose 31% year-on-year to Rs 521.5 crore in FY25, accounting for nearly 30% of the company’s overall expenses and remaining its largest cost centre.

Spending on advertising and promotional expenses remained flat at Rs 202.9 crore in FY25, while depreciation and amortisation costs increased 12% year-on-year to Rs 237.6 crore. Legal and professional expenses, along with finance costs, added another Rs 120.9 crore and Rs 109.5 crore, respectively, to the company’s total expenses.

Information technology, travel and other miscellaneous expenses pushed overall costs up by 12% year-on-year to Rs 1,751.6 crore in FY25.

In the end, the Bengaluru-based firm’s losses declined by 10% to Rs 480.8 crore in FY25. Its ROCE and EBITDA margins stood at -24.02% and -15.54% respectively whereas its EBITDA (loss) stands at Rs 189 crore in the period. 

Cult.fit managed to improve its expense-to-earning ratio to Rs 1.44 in the previous fiscal. Its current assets stood at Rs 1,029.5 crore with a cash and bank balance of Rs 240.7 crore in FY25.

According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Cult.fit has raised over $675 million to date from investors including Accel, Temasek, Eternal (Zomato), Tata Digital and several others.

The Tata Digital-backed company is reportedly aiming to raise Rs 2,500 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation of around $2 billion, and has appointed Axis Capital, Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JM Financial as its bankers.

While it remains to be seen what amount of dressing up will primp up the firm for an ambitious IPO, it is obvious that losses and the firm will have a relationship for quite a few more quarters for now. Considering some of the IPOs we have seen this year, including from profitable firms, it seems fair to say that 2026 might yet be the year where investors wonder what were we thinking? There is little in the Cult.Fit model that demonstrates a high brand loyalty or an ability to command a premium consistently, save for a superior ability to raise funding and grow inorganically if need be. At current margins, it is simply buying growth one would argue, and that too at not so impressive prices. The firm’s numbers remind us of the D2C spike we saw in 2023, and it would be a pity indeed if it was to end the same way. A public issue seems like a poor idea right now, irrespective of the ‘public’ appetite to invest into paper they wouldn’t have touched two years back.