Baiju reported revenue of $305.6 million in the fiscal year ending March 2021, below its own forecast, the Indian edtech giant said in audited results on Wednesday, drawing scrutiny from lawmakers and local officials following an 18-month delay.
The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, India’s top value chain, reported a loss of $577.4 million in the current financial year, up $32.9 million from FY20.
Baiju has publicly stated in media interviews and other public forums that it is on track to reach $1 billion in revenue in the financial year ending March 2021. In an interview with TechCrunch, Baiju founder Baiju Ravendran said those forecasts are for calendar year 2021 and that 40% of FY21 revenue — due to the timing and duration of credit sales — will be deferred to next year.
The startup said it earned $1.258 billion (undisclosed) in total revenue for the financial year ended in March this year. Between April and July, the startup reported $570 million in revenue.
Baiju was scrutinized for its delay in posting its audited results, which made international headlines. Ravendraran said that despite the research, the startup has grown rapidly and by 2018, He said they are all Baiju’s core assets, including Whitehat Jr., a kid-focused coding platform it acquired in 2020, and a fitness chain it bought in recent years. We did not see any change in growth when schools opened.
“Even in the last 12 months, none of our investors have sold their shares,” he said. “Investors are relieved and happy.”
Ravendran said that the audited accounts were delayed due to the complications of Covid and the accounting he had done last year. “The auditors had to do a lot more work. That is why the audit has been delayed,” he said.
The startup, valued at more than $22 billion, has extended plans to go public this year. Raveendran Baiju said he is closely monitoring macro market conditions and will file for an IPO in nine to 12 months. “I don’t think the markets will turn this year,” he said.
Byju’s is also looking to close a new funding round within weeks, he said. The startup is in the advanced stages of raising funding from sovereign wealth funds seeking to double its size, he said. The company has confirmed that it has made a bid to buy US edtech company 2U.
Raveendran, a former teacher, in recent months there have been many false reports about the company’s business. For example, the startup paid $1 billion to the investor Blackstone for the majority of the money, and the two jointly decided to process the rest of the payment later, he said.
However, the startup confirmed that it did not receive $250 million from Sumeru and Oxshot, which decided to participate in a funding round earlier this year.
