Do you know over 70% of India is non-vegetarian? But handling non-veg items isn’t that easy as compared to veggies and groceries. You need to wash meat more thoroughly and store it in a hygienic place. Therefore, people prefer to buy it fresh. However, buying fresh meat isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, especially in a hectic life. This is the point when Licious entered the market in 2015. It is an e-commerce service that delivers fresh seafood and meat. Also, it provides ready-to-eat non-veg products. Through these services, Licious Revenue reached Rs.682 crore. Unfortunately, its losses jumped to Rs.855 crore in FY22.
Why couldn’t it make profits despite earning such massive revenue? You will come to know it in this write-up.
Keep reading!
Licious Revenue Breakdown
First of all, let’s look at the bright side of the company. In FY22, Licious earned revenue of Rs.682.6 crore. Do you know, how much it earned last year (FY21)? Rs.415.5 crore. It is time to compare the Licious revenue of the last two fiscal years.
| Revenue Sources | FY22 | FY21 |
| Sale of meat, seafood, eggs, and others | Rs.665.7 crore | Rs.403.6 crore |
| Revenue from delivery charges | Rs.16.9 crore | Rs.11.9 crore |
Licious revenue increased in this fiscal year. The sale of non-veg products like meat, seafood, and eggs generated the highest chunk of the revenue. The revenue earned from the delivery charges was the second contributor to the earning of Licious. It is quite fascinating! Isn’t it? But there is an intense dark side to this scenario. Expenses! You will get to know about it in the next section.
Expenses
On the expense side, the cost of raw goods such as meat, poultry, and seafood products was the largest expenditure of the company. It accounted for nearly 46.5% of total expenses i.e. 554 crore. Also, the company’s spending on employee benefits rose to 76%% i.e. Rs.209.5 crore. Now look at the overall expenses that led to the losses for the company “Licious.”
| Expenses | FY22 | FY21 |
| Cost of raw goods | Rs.554 crore | Rs.317.8 crore |
| Employee benefit expense | Rs.209.5 crore | Rs.119 crore |
| Advertising & promotional expense | Rs.170 crore | Rs.66 crore |
| Transportation distribution expenses | Rs.65.2 crore | Rs.28.1 crore |
| Information technology expenses | Rs.24.42 crore | Rs.10.93 crore |
| Other operating expenses | Rs.167.88 crore | Rs.100.15 crore |
Now, you might have understood why Licious is drowning in deep losses despite earning massive revenue. However, the company looks at its expenses as potent investments that will contribute to a significant amount of revenue in the future.
Financials of Licious
The financials of the company Licious is summarized in the following table-
| Licious Financials | Amount (in crores) |
| Market Valuation | Rs.12,300 crore ($1.5 billion) |
| Revenue Earned | Rs.682.6 crore |
| Expenses | Rs.1,191 crore |
| Profit/Loss | Loss of Rs.855 crore |
Licious was not profitable in FY22 because it dipped in a loss of Rs.855 crore. Even though it earned an appreciable amount of revenue from its two significant revenue sources. But the cash outflow in various expenses was high as well. This means the amount spent on expenditures exceeded the amount of revenue earned. Eventually, it continues to face a significant amount of loss.
Future Plans of Licious
It looks like Licious toiled hard in the fiscal year 2022. Well, that’s not the case only with this company. It is planning to expand its business in 20 more cities in India. The co-founders of Licious i.e. Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta realized the growth potential of the meat ecosystem in India. Therefore, despite losses, Licious is firm on its geographical expansion plans. It is also looking forward to developing an online channel and becoming a remarkable D2C meat and seafood brand. Although the financial numbers may not look too impressive. But Licious has made a huge impact on the online meat ecosystem of India.
