Online brokerage platform Zerodha saw its net profit increase in the financial year ended March 2024, buoyed by strong growth in revenue. The company also managed to trim its expenses.
However, Zerodha expects a 10% revenue dip this fiscal year due to SEBI’s new fee circular and a potential 30-50% drop from regulation on index derivatives. This has prompted the company to diversify into margin trade funding, investments, and loan-against-securities services, according to a blog post by Co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath in September.
In FY24, net profit was up 89% to Rs 5,496 crore from Rs 2,908 crore last fiscal year. Revenue from operations rose by 37.16% to Rs 9,372 crore or a little over $1.1 billion in FY24, compared to Rs 6,832 crore in FY23.
Total income, which includes other gains, surged 45.32% to Rs 9,994 crore from Rs 6,877 crore in the previous fiscal year.
The company saw a significant 24% drop in employee benefit expenses to Rs 473.96 crore.
Meanwhile, other expenses rose by 11% to Rs 2,619 crore, driven by a 28% increase in information technology expenses to Rs 492 crore. Exchange and depository charges, a key operational cost, surged 42% to Rs 14,756 crore as trading volumes climbed.
Its competitor Groww has reported consolidated revenue of Rs 3,145 crore for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, marking a 119% growth compared to Rs 1,435 crore in FY22-23.
The Bengaluru-based company’s operational profitability also improved, with an operating profit of Rs 535 crore for FY24, up from Rs 458 crore the previous year. Groww reported a net loss of Rs 805 crore for FY24, primarily due to a one-time tax expense of Rs 1,340 crore related to the company’s recent move to domicile in India.
