In the previous year, food ordering and grocery delivery behemoth Swiggy saw a steep surge of losses, which were more than double to Rs 3,628.90 crore in FY22 from Rs 1,617 crore in FY21. According to analysts, the losses were the result of the company’s efforts to grow the gross revenue from operations, which increased from 124% to Rs 5,705 crore from Rs 2,547 crore in FY21.
During the last fiscal year, cash outflows from operations stood at Rs 3,900 crore, according to an annual statement filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
Swiggy’s rival Zomato reported operating revenues of Rs 4,192 crore in FY22, up 110% over the last year, even as it posted losses of Rs 1,203 crore, up 46%.
In the end of November last year, analysts at Jefferies had noted out that Zomato may be gaining an edge over rival Swiggy despite the latter’s more attractive discounts to customers. Swiggy’s H1CY22 food delivery gross merchandise value (GMV) at $1.3 billion, or roughly Rs 10,500 crore, was smaller than the $1.6 billion, or around Rs 13,000 crore, for Zomato during the same period.
Analysts pointed out that Swiggy was still running its flagship ‘Swiggy One’ scheme, whereas Zomato has given up on Pro. “This partially explains a much higher loss for Swiggy,” they wrote, pointing out that both players had seen good growth in quick commerce.
Swiggy’s costs more than doubled to Rs 9,574 crore in FY22 with the cost of procuring products going up fourfold to Rs 2,268 crore. The advertising and promotional expenses also soared to Rs 1,848.7 crore. The outsourcing of support-related expenses — including labour costs for deliveries and the expenses on expanding its dark store network for Instamart – doubled to Rs 2,350 crore.
In January 2022, Swiggy was last valued at $10.7 billion, after a $700 million fundraise. Swiggy’s investor Prosus said the Bengaluru-based company saw its food delivery GMV (gross merchandise value) grow by 40 per cent to $1.3 billion in the six months ended September 30, 2022. Its quick commerce (Instamart) GMV also increased 15x to $257 million.
An yearly data analysis report said over 1,00,000 new restaurants and cloud kitchens joined Swiggy in 2022, along with over 10,000 new restaurants joining Swiggy Dineout. The company recorded average bookings of 596 tables per hour and customers spent 25 per cent more while dining out in 2022 as compared to last year. Its quick commerce vertical Swiggy Instamart witnessed over 5 crore orders and counting from Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai.
In Kochi, Swiggy delivery workers went on an indefinite strike to demand better payouts in November 2022. The Kerala High Court ordered the state police to ensure that the strike did not interfere with the state’s law and order situation. The court order came after Swiggy appealed to the court for police support.
A Swiggy spokesperson had said in a statement, “There have been no layoffs at Swiggy. We concluded our performance cycle in October and have announced ratings and promotions at all levels. As with every cycle, we expect exits based on performance.”
In May 2022, Swiggy took over Dineout, a dining out and restaurant tech platform, for an undisclosed sum. According to sources, the acquisition size was around $200 million.
