UrbanClap's revenue quadruples, losses reduce in FY18

Home services marketplace UrbanClap's revenue grew four times in the financial year 2017-18 even as its net loss reduced by a quarter, according to multiple media reports which attributed the unaudited financials to a company statement. 

While revenue rose to Rs 45 crore from Rs 11 crore the previous fiscal, losses reduced to Rs 50 crore from Rs 67 crore during the same period.

UrbanClap’s operating revenue consists of commissions it makes from each completed service. It charges a commission of around 10-20% of the transaction fee from service providers, depending on the type of service availed by the customer.

Backed by Bessemer Venture Partners and Ratan Tata among other investors, UrbanClap also claimed to have hit an annualised revenue run rate of Rs 100 crore as of last month. 

While that figure does not translate to the actual revenue of a company, it helps project future earnings.

It claimed to have received 4.5 lakh orders with an average order value of Rs 1,200-1,500 last month, with gross transaction value at around Rs 50 crore.

Co-founder Abhiraj Singh Bhal was quoted as saying that UrbanClap’s cash burn is less than Rs 2 crore per month. The company had reported expenses of Rs 81.4 crore in 2016-17. The exact figure for 2017-18 was not immediately available.

Bhal added that UrbanClap has around Rs 220 crore on its balance sheet for further investment.

Email queries sent to UrbanClap did not elicit a response till the time of publishing this report. 

Founded in 2014, the New Delhi-based startup helps users hire professionals for home services such as plumbing, beauty, house cleaning and repair, yoga and fitness, and others across eight cities. It recently expanded operations into Dubai. 

UrbanClap was founded by Varun Khaitan, an IIT Kanpur alumnus who previously worked at the Boston Consulting Group; Abhiraj Bhal, an IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Kanpur graduate who also worked at BCG; and Raghav Chandra, a University of California, Berkeley, alumnus who earlier worked at Twitter. 

Parent company UrbanClap Technologies India Pvt. Ltd has so far raised a total of $60 million in funding from key investors such as SAIF Partners, Accel Partners and Vy Capital. 

In October last year, UrbanClap was reported to be on the radar of e-commece major Flipkart for a potential buyout. 

UrbanClap’s closest competitor HouseJoy, which is backed by Flipkart's rival Amazon, laid off more than 40 employees across several departments to cut costs amid slow revenue growth, Economic Times reported on Tuesday.

UrbanClap and Housejoy have a larger common rival, Quikr, which has acquired a number of home services startups over the past couple of years.

Home services startups have been in troubled waters for quite some time. Many have tweaked their businesses, shut shop or axed jobs. Some smaller players have also been acquired by bigger rivals.