Ed-tech unicorn Byju’s turns profitable for 2018-19

Education-technology unicorn Byju’s said on Thursday it has turned profitable for the financial year ended March 2019.

Revenue jumped to Rs 1,430 crore, the company said in a statement, citing unaudited numbers. It had reported gross revenue of Rs 500.21 crore for 2017-18.

The company didn’t specify what its profit was.

The company attributed the growth in revenue to greater market penetration and a significant increase in the number of paid subscribers. The total number of registered users on the platform stood at 35 million, of which 2.4 million pay for the services. The company reported a subscription renewal rate of 85%. 

For 2017-18, the company had halved its loss to Rs 37.15 crore. Total expenses stood at Rs 537.38 crore. The company said the company was earning over Rs 200 crore in monthly revenue as on April 2019.

The ed-tech firm, founded by Byju Raveendran in 2011, was valued at $5 billion (Rs 34,887 crore) when it last raised capital from existing investors Tencent and General Atlantic..

The company initially started as a platform for helping students from classes 6-12 prepare for competitive examinations. It now includes content for students in class 1-3 on app and 4 to 5 on the website. The company is also working on creating content in local languages apart from English and Hindi for better reach. 

“We have witnessed significant growth in the number of students learning from us and today, 60% of our students are from outside the top 10 cities. This high adoption rate is a clear indication that online learning is fulfilling a crucial need and is here to stay,” said Raveendran.