MAM
Zoomcar reports fiscal third quarter 2023 results
Mumbai: Zoomcar Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZCAR) (“Zoomcar,” the “Company,” “we,” or “our”), the leading marketplace for car sharing in emerging markets, has reported select financial results for the third fiscal quarter ended 31 December 2023.
Management Commentary
“Our third fiscal quarter results capped a strong performance in our ongoing efficiency efforts as we achieved record gross profit and non-GAAP contribution profit while also paving the way for meaningful revenue growth over the next several quarters,” said Zoomcar CEO & co-founder Greg Moran. “The period also marked an important milestone with our public listing on Nasdaq following our successful business combination. As we look ahead to 2024, we expect a meaningful return to growth with materially improved profitability as we now have the right infrastructure in place to scale our operations efficiently.”
Zoomcar comments and continues to make significant progress across the Company’s strategic priorities:
1 Make vehicle Hosting mainstream: We’re focused on making vehicle Hosting just as popular as renting a Zoomcar, and we believe we’re making continuous progress to this end. Active vehicle listings hit 10.3K in FQ3 2023 as we continue to see double-digit supply growth across all major regions within India. In FQ3 2023, Zoomcar Hosts earned approximately $4 million. We’ll continue to raise awareness around Hosting through brand marketing investments and external third-party partnerships, while improving the Host’s onboarding journey and their overall experience on the platform.
2 Perfect the core guest experience: We are intensely focused on technology-driven product innovation to improve the overall booking experience for our community of guests. In FQ3 2023 alone, we launched more than 20 new features and upgrades that, among others, help improve vehicle listing discoverability, improve price comparison capabilities, enhance sort/filter abilities within search, and revamp the payment experience at checkout.
3 Expand beyond India: We are making steady progress in our efforts to expand beyond India. Egypt continues to scale bookings while building toward a sustainable non-GAAP contribution margin at the country level. In Indonesia we remain focused on building the appropriate mix of supply to attract higher volumes of demand to the platform on a consistent basis. We remain committed to further investment into these markets across 2024 and look forward to exploring additional opportunities for new country expansion later in the year.
Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”)
1 FQ3 2023 marked a record quarter in average transaction size across the Company. Zoomcar achieved a record average transaction size of over $75 per booking during the quarter. This performance showcases the platform’s ability to leverage our internal AI models to drive higher effective net pricing on behalf of our Hosts. Concurrently, the platform also continues to enjoy a significant expansion in our multi-day travel demand which drives effective trip durations higher.
2 Booked days and booked guests have shown increased momentum in recent months. Total booked days and booked guests were 163.9K and 68.1K, respectively.
3 We achieved a record in active vehicle listings in FQ3 2023. Our active vehicle listings reached 10.3K in FQ3 2023. We continue to witness growth across Indian metros while observing a balanced mix of vehicle segments associated with new listings. Consistent with earlier trends in 2023, we see a consistently larger mix of professional Hosts to the platform with the intent of leveraging the Zoomcar platform as a micro-entrepreneurship opportunity.
4 Platform quality continues to improve at a steady pace. The platform’s average guest trip rating was 4.50 on a 5-point scale in FQ3 2023. We believe that this clearly demonstrates that our product focused approach to the customer experience on the Zoomcar platform is continuing to pay dividends. A constant focus on building tools to better improve in-trip communication between guests and Hosts represented a noticeable step function improvement in the overall in-trip experience for both sets of customers on the platform.
Fiscal Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results
Results compare 2023 fiscal third quarter end (December 31, 2023) to 2022 fiscal third quarter end (December 31, 2022) unless otherwise indicated. We are also presenting various financial metrics under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and as adjusted (non-GAAP). A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP metrics appears at the end of this news release.
1 Net revenue decreased 19% to $2.4 million, compared to $3.0 million in the same period last year. The decrease in revenue was primarily due to a lower number of days booked resulting in decreased gross billings as the Company prioritized higher-margin bookings in support of its cost reduction efforts.
2 Gross profit increased to a record $0.3 million, compared to a gross loss of $0.3 million in the same period last year. The increase in gross profit was a result of trip fulfillment cost reductions driven by collective improvements in efficiency and lower Host accident-related reimbursements that consistently showed improvement over fiscal 2023.
3 Operating expenses (excluding G&A costs) decreased 24%, to $2.2 million, compared to $2.9 million in the same period last year. The decrease in operating expenses was a result of a decrease in sales and marketing costs and technology and development costs.
4 GAAP net income was $14.4 million, compared to an $8.7 million net loss in the same period last year. The improvement in net loss was the result of a one-time deSPAC transaction gains of $28.9 million associated with financial instrument conversions at fair market value. During the period, the Company also improved its gross margin profile and recorded a reduction in Host accident-related reimbursements.
5 Gross booking value (“GBV”) was $6.5 million, compared to $8.3 million in the same period last year. The decrease in GBV was a result of our focus on booking level profitability (contribution margin) improvements at the expense of volume growth.
6 Contribution profit (non-GAAP) was $0.2 million, compared to a contribution loss of $0.7 million in the same period last year, driven by reductions in cost of revenue due to the overall improvements in operational efficiency as well as lower host incentives and marketing costs. FQ3 2023 was the Company’s first full quarter of positive contribution profit and marked a consistent quarter-over-quarter effort to achieve this result.
7 Adjusted EBITDA loss (non-GAAP) was $4.0 million, compared to $5.2 million in the same period last year. The improvement in adjusted EBITDA reflects broad-based cost reduction and efficiency initiatives that reduced cost of revenue, technology and development costs, and operating expenses.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company had total negative working capital of $26.2 million, including $6.1 million in cash.
Calendar 2024 Financial Outlook
Based on initial performance in calendar year 2024 to-date as well as anticipated business growth expected in the coming months, the Company projects net revenue to range between $17.0 million and $20.0 million for the calendar year ended 31 December 2024, representing an increase of approximately 70% to 100% compared to calendar year 2023.
The company also expects to achieve an annualised adjusted EBITDA run rate between $2.0 million and $4.0 million in calendar Q4 2024.
Brands
Pre-seed funding fuels nailinit, India’s new-age nail care brand
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund backs Gen Z-focused beauty startup
MUMBAI: nailinit, a community-first nail care startup targeting Gen Z and millennials, has raised Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 crore in a pre-seed round led by Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund and Marsshot VC, alongside a clutch of consumer, technology and operator angels.
Backed by entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath, Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund is betting on nailinit’s attempt to give India’s nail care aisle a long overdue makeover. The fresh capital will be used to deepen distribution across quick commerce and D2C channels, build its community engine, and accelerate product innovation in a category that is high frequency but still light on strong brands.
Founded by Tanishq Ambegaokar and Shubham Singhal, nailinit is positioning itself at the crossroads of beauty, self-expression and culture. The brand wants nails to be more than a finishing touch. It sees them as a canvas for identity, content and commerce.
“At nailinit, we are building for a generation that sees beauty as self-expression, not just routine,” said Ambegaokar. “The nail category in India has largely been underserved by strong brands. This capital allows us to invest in product depth, community and distribution in a thoughtful and long-term way.”
Singhal added that while the brand’s tone may be playful, its operating focus is sharp. “This round strengthens our supply chain, expands our digital footprint and enables disciplined execution as we scale.”
The funding round drew notable angels including Shashank Kumar of Razorpay, Arjit Johri of Marsshot VC, Yash Jain, formerly of NimbusPost, Karan Jindal of Meta, Jivraj Singh Sachar of ISV Capital, Nishank Jain of Accel, Yashvardhan Kanoi, Ashwarya Garg of HYPD, Venus Dhuria of Phot.AI and Amishi Parasrampuria of The Whole Truth.
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund fund manager Gauri Kuchhal, believes the opportunity lies in shifting habits. “Nail care remains underpenetrated in India, with consumers relying on time-intensive salon visits. As convenience and self-expression gain ground, press-on nails can unlock more frequent and experimental usage. Nailinit is well-placed to expand beyond press-ons into adjacent categories.”
The brand is currently the only nail care player in India blending product-led retail with a dedicated kiosk at Jio World Drive in Bandra, where customers can walk in for services while discovering the range. It has also built early traction across quick commerce platforms such as Zepto and Blinkit, with a launch on Instamart in the pipeline, and is available on Amazon, strengthening its omnichannel presence.
In a space long dominated by salon chairs and scattered labels, nailinit is attempting to file, shape and polish the category into something sharper. With fresh funding in hand, the startup is setting out to prove that in beauty, small details can make a bold statement.
