Uber India's support unit sees growth stagnate in FY17, profit up a tad

The key India unit of US-based ride-hailing app Uber saw its revenue growth flatten for the financial year ended March 2017.

Mumbai-based Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd registered standalone operating revenue of Rs 410 crore, up 9.3% from Rs 375 crore in the previous financial year, the firm’s filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) show.

The company’s standalone profit after tax marginally rose to Rs 19 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 18.7 crore in the year prior.

In 2015-16, Uber India Systems had registered more than five-fold growth compared to 2014-15 when it made operating revenue of Rs 69 crore.

In 2016-17, the company’s total expenses stood at Rs 380 crore, compared to Rs 346 crore in the previous financial year.

“These filings are for Uber India Systems, a group company that provides support and marketing services, and is in no way reflective of the financials of Uber's ridesharing and food delivery business. Today’s filing shows increased efficiency and resource utilisation and does not reflect a slowdown in the growth of our India operations,” a spokesperson from Uber India said in an emailed response to TechCircle.

Uber India’s rival Ola, however, doubled its revenue for 2016-17 but reported a wider loss as it continued to spend to fend off competition, the firm’s ROC filings showed.

The company’s consolidated operating revenue grew to Rs 1,177.8 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 500.5 crore the year before. Consolidated net loss widened to Rs 4,897.9 crore from Rs 3,147.9 crore.

The company’s standalone operating revenue had jumped to Rs 1,077.8 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 494.5 crore in 2015-16. Its standalone net loss expanded to Rs 4,816.9 crore from Rs 3,120.8 crore.

Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola has so far raised nearly $2 billion in overall funding and is valued at more than $4 billion, according to VCCircle estimates.

Uber, led by Dara Khosrowshahi, is increasingly focusing its attention on India after selling its China and Southeast Asia units to Didi Chuxing and Grab, respectively.

On Tuesday, the company announced it had appointed Pradeep Parameswaran as its new president for India and South Asia. The post had been vacant since May-end, when Uber had elevated Parameswaran’s predecessor Amit Jain as president of the firm's Asia-Pacific operations.