Scripbox reports Rs 84.33 Cr revenue in FY24, employee costs cut by 38%

Wealth management platform Scripbox managed to grow its revenue at a decent pace during the last fiscal year (FY24) with a controlled cash burn, helping the Bengaluru-based company to control its losses significantly.

Scripbox’s revenue from operations grew 44.4% to Rs 84.33 crore during the financial year ending March 2024 as compared to Rs 58.4 crore in FY23, as per the consolidated financial statements accessed from the Registrar of Companies.

Founded in 2012, Scripbox generates revenue through a diversified model spanning multiple financial services. It earns brokerage and commissions from mutual fund distribution, fixed deposits, portfolio management services (PMS), alternative investment funds (AIFs), and sovereign gold bonds et al. Scripbox also derives revenue from advisory services and lead generation fees based on the monthly leads generated.

The company collected 91.3% of its operating revenue via brokerage and commission amounting to Rs 77.02 crore. Collections from investment advisory fees stood at Rs 6.2 crore while fees from portfolio management service amounted to Rs 1.07 crore during FY24.

Additionally, it also generated Rs 6.15 crore through interest and gain on financial assets which drove the overall revenue to Rs 90.5 crore at the end of financial year 2024.

As per Scipbox, it has assets under management (AUM) worth Rs 18,500 crore.

On the cost side, Scripbox spent the most (Rs 73.13 crore) on employee benefits which shrank 38% during the year from Rs 118.32 crore in FY23. Significantly, this cost also includes Rs 25.72 crore worth of ESOP expenses.

Subscription membership fees, promotional costs, and legal charges were registered at Rs 4.1 crore, Rs 2.8 crore, and Rs 5.83 crore, respectively.

The company's overall expenditure dwindled by 25% to Rs 134.24 crore in FY24 from Rs 179.4 crore in FY23.

Coming to the bottom line, Scripbox managed to control its losses by 62% to Rs 44.7 crore during FY24 against Rs 117.65 crore booked in FY23. The controlled losses could be attributed to the cost-cutting measures, especially in employee costs.

Notably, the company had recorded exceptional items worth Rs 48.8 crore relating to the surrender or cancellation of ESOPs. This eventually portrayed the company as profitable but due to the non-cash nature of the item, Entrackr has excluded this figure while calculating the overall losses during FY24.

The operating cash flows of the company turned negative to Rs -11.22 crore in FY24 against Rs 50.37 crore in the previous fiscal year.

Moving forward, the EBITDA margin and ROCE of the company bettered to -32.31% and -52.44%, respectively. On a unit level, Scripbox spent Rs 1.59 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in FY24.

The firm has Rs 7.43 crore worth of cash and bank balance at the end of FY24. While the current assets stand at Rs 37 crore with a current ratio of 96.83% during the period.

As per TheKredible, Scripbox has raised over $55 million to date across rounds and is valued at around Rs 1,150 crore or $137 million. The company is backed by Accel, LetsVenture, and DMI, among others.

According to TheKredible, Indian wealthtech startups such as Neo, Dezerv, Centricity, Stable Money, Fisdom, InvestorAi, and Wealthy have collectively raised over $200 million across 13 funding deals since October last year. Scripbox was reportedly in talks to raise $25 million; however, the deal is yet to be officially announced.

Scripbox seems to be a classic case of what should now be called the Bengaluru syndrome, where firms seem to build products that have a strong use case in the rarefied environs of Bengaluru, only to struggle as the idea is scaled beyond city limits. We believe Scripbox qualifies for that in a market where outside of a few pockets of affluence, the primary focus of wealth building remains investments in property, some gold, and the odd flutter in the crypto of the month. Competition for this sliver of affluent Indians with the disposable income to feel rich about handing over the job of managing their finances is intense, as most prospects would testify. Even as firms have become better at mining through data to target more prospects, converting them remains a huge challenge. In a low trust society, too much of a digital is hardly the bright option it might seem to sellers. Scripbox is in for a proper fight to remain relevant and survive, despite a neat interface and clean reputation.