Garuda Aerospace revenue and profit soar over 2X in FY24

Drone technology startup Garuda Aerospace had a strong performance in the last fiscal year, with its operating scale more than doubling and profits surging nearly 3X, despite a two-fold increase in expenses.

Garuda Aerospace’s revenue from operations grew by 2.3X to Rs 110 crore in FY24 from Rs 47 crore in FY23, according to its financial statements sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Garuda Aerospace designs, manufactures and customizes Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs or drones) for various use cases such as deliveries, disaster management and agriculture.

The firm makes money from surveillance charges and related operating services which saw a jump of 143% to Rs 68 crore in FY24 while the rest came via sale of drones and accessories which generated Rs 42 crore.

On the expense side, the biggest cost component, material expenses, saw a massive 5.4X jump to Rs 49 crore in FY24 from Rs 9 crore in FY24. Employee benefit expenses also climbed 22% to Rs 11 crore. Other major costs included legal charges of Rs 8 crore and travel expenses of Rs 7 crore. 

Overall, total expense bill for Garuda Aerospace increased by 128% to Rs 89 crore in FY24 from Rs 39 crore in FY23. For a detailed expense breakdown, refer to TheKredible.

Despite the increase in expenses, the company’s strong revenue growth allowed it to expand its net earnings. Garuda Aerospace’s profit margin saw notable improvement, with net profit reaching Rs 16 crore in FY24, a 2.7X increase from Rs 6 crore in the previous year.

On a unit economics basis, the firm spent Rs 0.81 to earn a rupee in FY24. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin stood at 20.72% and 22.52%, respectively.

At the end of FY24, Garuda Aerospace recorded current assets worth Rs 130 crore which includes Rs 16 crore of cash and bank balance.

According to TheKredible, the firm has raised a total of $31 million of funding till date, having Ocgrow Ventures and Silver Swan Investments as its lead investors. Its founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Agnishwar Jayaprakash owns 77% of the company.