The Bengaluru-based cab aggregator, Ola, which is locked in an intense battle for leadership, with US-based Uber in the Indian market has suffered a consolidated loss of over Rs 2,311 crore even though its revenue has increased significantly.
Ola has witnessed its losses widen about three times from Rs 796.11 crore in 2014-15.
ANI Technologies, Ola's parent company, did see its revenues register a stellar growth at Rs 758.23 crore during 2015-16 compared to Rs 103.77 crore in the previous fiscal.
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Another revelation that came to light was that the homegrown firm spent about Rs 6 crore a day during 2015-16 over heavy advertising, promotional expenses and high employee costs, as per a filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Anchal Agarwal, co-founder of research and analytics firm Tofler said while the absolute amount of losses have indeed widened, the loss margin has reduced considerably.
"They spent almost Rs 8.5 for every rupee earned in 2014 -15. That number is down to almost Rs 4 for every rupee earned for 2015-16," Agarwal said.
"With the pull-back in incentives etc in recent months, it's possible this has now dropped to levels at par with e-commerce companies that spend roughly Rs 2-3 for every rupee earned," she added. The consolidated numbers include financials of ANI Technologies, Ola Fleet Technologies (leasing business), Serendipity Infolabs (Taxi For Sure) and Zipcash Card Service (46 per cent ownership).
Last month, Ola's board approved raising up to $100 million from existing shareholders, primarily to fund its expansion plans. It had also earlier raised funds to the tune of Rs 1,675 crore from its Japanese investor, SoftBank.
SoftBank subsidiary SIMI Pacific Pte picked 12,97,945 shares valued at Rs 10 at a premium of Rs 12,895 in ANI Technologies -- which runs Ola -- filings with the Registrar of Companies showed.
Ola's rival, Uber, has made India one of its top priorities, after selling out its China business to rival Didi. The American firm has made significant investments in its India operations, strengthening its platform and expanding its driver partner ecosystem.
Ola, which has a presence in 110 Indian cities compared to Ubers operations in 29 cities, has also been aggressively expanding its portfolio of services.
It is also placing big bets on new technologies like electric vehicles to stay ahead of competition.
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