LEAD, a provider of digital learning solutions, has reported an impressive growth rate of over 28% for the fiscal year ending March 2024, exceeding the revenue threshold of Rs 350 crore. The company has significantly enhanced its financial position by reducing losses by more than 55% during the same period.
LEAD’s operational revenue rose by 28.6%, reaching Rs 351 crore in the last fiscal year, compared to Rs 273 crore in FY23, as per the annual financial statements obtained from the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
Based in Mumbai, LEAD offers an extensive array of educational resources for schools, including:
– Books
– Workbooks
– Curricula
– Smart classes
– Teacher training
– Teacher manuals
– ERPs
– Math-Science kits
As stated on its website, LEAD collaborates with over 8,000 schools and operates in more than 400 cities across the nation.
Product sales accounted for 79% of the total operating income, which rose by 35% to Rs 276 crore in FY24. The remaining revenue was generated through platform services, contributing Rs 75 crore during this timeframe.
In addition, LEAD reported earnings of Rs 19 crore from non-operational activities, leading to a total income of Rs 370 crore for the last fiscal year.
In contrast to other edtech companies, LEAD experienced a 39% year-on-year reduction in employee benefit costs, which decreased to Rs 174 crore in FY24. Despite this cut, employee benefits remained the single largest expense, constituting 34% of total costs.
The cost of products was Rs 126 crore in the prior fiscal year, while expenditure on advertising, legal fees, and donations was also reduced. These strategies led to a 17% decline in overall expenses, which fell to Rs 513 crore in FY24.
The combination of a 28.6% increase in scale and controlled expenditure on employee benefits enabled LEAD to decrease its losses by 55.6%, with losses amounting to Rs 143 crore in FY24. The company’s Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) and EBITDA margin stood at -46.9% and -15.68%, respectively. On a per unit basis, the company invested Rs 1.46 to achieve a revenue of one rupee in the last fiscal year. As of FY24, LEAD reported current assets of Rs 432 crore, with cash and bank balances totalling Rs 86 crore.
Recently, LEAD announced its achievement of becoming EBITDA positive in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (Q1 FY25). To date, the company has secured over $180 million in funding, including a significant $100 million funding round led by WestBridge Capital in 2022, during which LEAD attained unicorn status.
As reported by various sources from the startup data intelligence platform, WestBridge Capital is the dominant external stakeholder with a 27.58% share, followed by Elevar Equity. The co-founders of the company, Sumeet Mehta and Smita Deorah, hold a combined ownership stake of 32.7%.