The SaaS-based omnichannel payment solutions provider, Phi Commerce, recorded a two-time increase in operating revenue. This growth occurred during its fiscal year, which ended in March 2024. The company’s operating revenue reached Rs 81.2 crore in FY24 which represented an increase from the previous year’s level of Rs 34.7 crore according to its consolidated financial statements filed with RoC. The rapid growth of the company resulted in net losses that grew three times larger due to the new figures of Rs 9.4 crore in FY23 rising to Rs 28.9 crore in FY24.
As a digital payment solutions specialist, Phi Commerce delivers PayPhi as its primary platform. PayPhi unifies payments across various channels, including online shopping, retail purchases, mobile transactions, and doorstep delivery payments. Karnataka based Phi Commerce targets businesses, banks, payment networks and receives most of its operating revenue from GMV settlements with merchants. The organizational segment from this division generated Rs 72.3 crore during FY24. Total revenue reached Rs 84.5 crore due to payments derived from technology infrastructure and payment aggregation services and the Rs 3.4 crore earned through fixed deposits and non-current investments.
The top revenue growth was offset by Phi Commerce's expenses which skyrocketed by 137% to reach Rs 116.6 crore during FY24 from Rs 49.2 crore in the previous year. Payment processing charges accounted for 60% of total expenses by reaching Rs 70.5 crore after doubling in FY24. Employee benefit expenses nearly increased by 109 percent reaching Rs 27.8 crore and payment processing costs and other costs with share-based compensation and platform support expenses drove expenses to double in FY24. The company spent Rs 1.44 for each rupee earned because of the expensive nature of its expansion strategy.
For fiscal year 2024, Phi Commerce reported a -40.18% Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) and an EBITDA margin of -35.11%, indicating its challenges in profitability collection. Its total current assets stood at Rs 107.7 crore with cash and bank balances of Rs 64.6 crore. The company's growth record shows a tremendous potential in digital payment, but the three times of loss indicates that loans have been an expensive undertaking in scaling operations and cast doubts on future sustainability in profit.
