“In FY22, Pocket FM revenue jumped 11 times while its expenses surged 10 times.”
“Pocket FM spent Rs.11.1 to earn a rupee in the current fiscal year.”
These are some of the news headlines that surrounded Pocket FM as soon as it released its financials. As you have read in Pocket FM Business Model, the audio series platform was in loss of Rs.171.6 crore. Despite earning Rs.17.55 crore (Pocket FM revenue), it is still struggling with its enormous losses.
Why is it so?
You will find it in this article. Stay tuned!
Pocket FM’s revenue breakdown
First, let’s look into the amount of money it earned. In FY22, Pocket FM Revenue was Rs.17.55 crore. Do you know how much it earned last year (FY21)? Hardly Rs.1.5 crore. It is a whopping 11.3X increase in the operating revenue.
Let’s compare the Pocket FM revenue of the last two fiscal years.
| Pocket FM Revenue Sources | FY 22 (Financial Year 2022) | FY 21 (Financial Year 2021) |
| Total Revenue Earned | Rs.17.55 crore | Rs.1.5 crore |
| Membership & Subscription | Rs.17.02 crore | – |
| Other Income | Rs.0.53 crore | – |
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.
Pocket FM’s expenses breakdown
There was no time to celebrate the 11.3C Pocket FM revenue increase. Why? You may ask. Because of its ballooning losses! In FY 22, it witnessed a 10X increase in total expenses i.e. Rs.189.15 crore. In short, it spent Rs.11.1 to earn just Rs.1 in operating revenue.
Let’s compare Pocket FM’s expenses for the last two fiscal years.
| Pocket FM’s Expenses | FY 22 (Financial Year 2022) | FY 21(Financial Year 2021) |
| Total Expenses | Rs.189.14 crores (10X increase) | Rs.19 crore |
| Rent and Promotional Cost | 158.2 crore (67% of total expenses) | Rs.14.7 crore |
| Advertisements (Ad Campaigns) | Rs.128 crores (14X increase) | Rs.9.22 crore |
| Employee Benefits | Rs.29.2 crores (7.3X increase) | Rs.4.2 crore |
| Technical Expenses | Rs.7.13 crore | – |
| Consultancy Expenses | Rs.6.12 crore | – |
Now, you might have understood why Pocket FM is drowning in deep losses in spite of earning decent revenue. However, the company released an explanatory statement for the rise in consultancy services. It had to spend a heavy amount on consultancy services due to back-to-back funding rounds.
So what’s next?
Does Pocket FM have any current or future plans in terms of business to manage its financials? Let’s find out!
Future Plans of Pocket FM
Although, the losses of Pocket FM are soaring high. But its officials are confident about the positive outcome in 2023. It expects 4X growth to $100 million (Rs.82 crores approx.) by the end of FY23. According to the officials, they heavily invested in promotions and advertisements. Eventually, it paved a way for aggregating publishers, artists, and writers. Along with the rising demand for audio series, Pocket FM is expecting to earn huge profits in the current fiscal year.
To manage the financials, Pocket FM is planning to improve its services which will eventually attract more users. Also, it is building an AI-approach in content generation, moderation, and personalization.
