The Bengaluru-based company posted a net loss of Rs 631 crore in FY24, down from Rs 1,678 crore in the previous year. Operating revenue declined by 7% to Rs 840 crore from Rs 907 crore, regulatory filings sourced from Tofler showed.
The operating revenue was primarily driven by Rs 829 crore from the sale of services, while the sale of traded goods contributed Rs 6 crore, and advertising revenue added Rs 4 crore.
Its total expenses decreased by about 40%, falling to Rs 1,627 crore from Rs 2,734 crore. It also brought its advertising and promotional expenses down to Rs 244 crore. The company spent Rs 529 crore on employee benefit expenses, compared to Rs 1,281 in FY23.
The company has undergone multiple restructuring exercises. In the current financial year, it laid off 250 employees in a new round of cuts. Earlier, in March 2023, the company reduced its workforce by 12%, impacting about 380 employees. In April 2022, it fired around 1,000 contractual and full-time employees.
Unacademy, started as a YouTube channel by Gaurav Munjal, Hemesh Singh and Roman Saini, became an edtech platform in 2015. In the test prep segment, it competes with the likes of Byju’s-owned Aakash Institute, Bodhi Tree-backed Allen Career Institute and WestBridge Capital-backed PhysicsWallah.
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In June, Singh stepped down as the chief technology officer (CTO) after nearly nine years and moved to an advisory role. In August 2023, Unacademy’s chief operating officer (COO) Vivek Sinha resigned from the company. In October 2023, chief financial officer (CFO) Subramanian Ramachandran put down his papers at the test preparation startup.The entire online edtech sector, including Unacademy, saw significant growth during the pandemic due to the surge in online learning. However, this growth slowed down after the pandemic as demand for online education decreased, leading the company to shift its focus towards expanding its offline presence.
It has raised $880 million since inception from the likes of Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global and General Atlantic. The company last closed a $440 million funding round in August 2021, led by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, valuing it at $3.4 billion.
On December 4, ET reported that the company is in talks with offline test preparation centre Allen Career Institute for a potential sale that could value the edtech firm at $800 million, a significant drop from its peak valuation of $3.4 billion. Before this, the company had held merger talks with K12 Techno, which runs the chain of Orchids International Schools.