Big setback for FirstCry ahead of IPO, firm reports 6x net loss: Report

FirstCry, the e-commerce firm likely to file for initial public offering (IPO) this week, has reported a six fold jump in its net loss for this fiscal at ₹486 crore. The net loss is 515 per cent more than than FY22 figure of ₹79 crore, Livemint reported. FirstCry, the company offering toys, apparel and babies accessories, witnessed its revenue from operations in FY22 surge by 135 per cent from ₹2,401 crore to ₹5,633 crore. The return on capital employed (ROCE) stood at -7 per cent while EBITDA margin stood at -2 per cent.ROCE is a financial statistic used to analyse the profitability and capital efficiency of a firm. ALSO READ: Sachin Tendulkar, Infosys cofounder among buyers of FirstCry shares ahead of IPOAccording to the Livemint report, FirstCry’s income from products sales surged 2.37 times to ₹5,519 crore in this financial year, accounting for 98 per cent of the total operating revenue. The report cited a sharp hike in expenses resulting in widening of losses fro the company in this financial year. Firstcry’s total expenses jumped by 146 per cent from ₹2,568 crore to ₹ ₹6,316 crore during the reported year.

In another development, Softbank, which is backing FirstCry, has sold shares worth $310 million in the company.

The shares sold by SoftBank was bought by few high net worth individuals, PTI reported. The Japanese firm had invested $400 million in FirstCry at an enterprise valuation of $ 900 million. The Japanese business giant still has shares valued at $800-900 million which it will sell later, and is looking to make around $1.3 billion from investment in FirstCry.