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Soaring expenses weighed heavily on the profit of Lendingkart Technologies, despite the surge in revenue in FY24.

The fintech firm’s consolidated revenue from operations reached Rs 1,090.63 crore in FY24, up 36.59% from Rs 798.45 crore in FY23, driven by a spike in insurance commissions and deposit interest. However, profit plummeted 97% year-over-year to Rs 3.25 crore from Rs 118.81 crore in FY23.

Other income, which more than doubled to Rs 127.24 crore from Rs 59.56 crore in FY23, was bolstered by a 7.2x increase in commission income from insurance, reaching Rs 65.09 crore, compared to Rs 9.02 crore the previous year.

Interest income on bank deposits doubled to Rs 30.89 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 15.12 crore in FY23.

Total income reached Rs 1,217.87 crore for the fiscal year (Rs 858.01 crore).

Total expenses rose steeply by 58.92%, climbing to Rs 1,194.32 crore from Rs 751.51 crore in FY23, driven by increased operational costs.

Notably, other expenses, the largest contributor to Lendingkart’s expense structure, increased 83.58% to Rs 649.86 crore, from Rs 353.98 crore, on the back of a significant rise in sovereign guarantee fees, which spiked over 4x to Rs 79.99 crore. Service charges for outsourced employees surged to Rs 33.88 crore from Rs 14.62 crore.

Employee benefits costs recorded a sharp 75.70% rise to Rs 199 crore from Rs 113.26 crore in the prior year, while finance costs—the second-largest expense category—grew to Rs 293.53 crore, representing a 16.81% increase from Rs 251.27 crore.

Rising costs, along with a deferred tax of Rs 13.57 crore, significantly impacted Lendingkart’s profitability, bringing the profit down to Rs 3.25 crore in FY24.

Earlier this month, Lendingkart said its existing investor Fullerton Financial Holdings (FFH) has picked up a controlling stake in the company for Rs 252 crore. According to data intelligence platform Tracxn, FFH currently holds around 38.1% stake in the company.

Th acquisition came at a valuation of $100 million, down from the $350 million it commanded during its last equity fundraise four years ago, according to The Economic Times.

In pic: Harshvardhan Lunia, Co-founder CEO, Lendingkart