Meru Cabs Losses Spike 198% Amid Renewed Focus On B2B Mobility

Meru Cabs losses elevated from INR 3.57 Cr in FY19 to INR 10.64 Cr in FY20

The corporate reported a marginal fall in income however a 12% improve in bills in FY20

Meru Cabs’ operational income from worker transportation and automotive rental providers noticed a large spike, as the corporate pivots its enterprise mannequin to a B2B-centric one

Cab aggregators like Ola and Uber couldn’t escape the cruel realities of Covid-19 pandemic.  Lockdowns pressured each firms to go for mass layoffs and pay cuts for his or her workers this 12 months. Additional, Ola reported a income lack of 95% in March-April, when country-wide lockdown restrictions have been in place. Although the lockdown has been largely lifted, work at home insurance policies are nonetheless in place for a lot of salaried professionals, which signifies that ride-hailing firms might have to attend longer to search out their ft.  

In such a scenario, Indian cab aggregator Meru Cabs is in an particularly precarious place. The corporate’s monetary efficiency within the fiscal 12 months 2019-20 (FY20), ending March 31, 2020 — earlier than ride-hailing firms started to really feel the impression of Covid-19 on their enterprise — was worrying. Meru Cabs’ filings with the Ministry of Company Affairs revealed that the corporate incurred an INR 10.64 Cr loss in FY20, a 198% year-on-year (YOY) improve. 

It’s value noting that 5 months into FY20, Mahindra & Mahindra had acquired a 55% stake in Meru Cabs for INR 201.5 Cr. With the acquisition, M&M gained the precise to nominate a majority of administrators on the board of Meru and to manage its composition after the primary tranche was paid. 

In FY20, the rise in losses for Meru Cabs has come about on account of a marginal fall in income, by 1.35% to INR 115.96 Cr in FY20. On the similar time, the corporate’s bills elevated by 12.9%, from INR 112.1 Cr in FY19 to INR 126.6 Cr in FY20. 

The YOY improve in bills may be attributed to a 37% improve in worker advantages expense for the 343 workers on the corporate’s payroll, a 97% improve in finance prices, and an 11% improve in different bills. The corporate’s depreciation, depletion and amortisation expense declined by 18% within the stated interval. 

As for Meru Cab’s operational income breakdown, the efficiency was blended. Whereas the corporate’s metered taxi operations witnessed a 26.7% decline, from INR 75 Cr in FY19 to INR 54.95 Cr in FY20, it noticed a large spike in revenues from its worker transportation and automotive rental providers. Its revenue from the worker transportation service elevated 204%, from INR 8.57 Cr in FY19 to INR 26.11 Cr in FY20. Meru Cabs’ revenue from the automotive rental service additionally elevated by 158%, from INR 86 lakhs in FY19 to INR 2.22 Cr in FY20. 

The rise in revenue from the worker transportation and automotive rental providers may very well be attributed to the corporate’s give attention to the B2B (enterprise to enterprise) section, said on report by Neeraj Gupta, the founder and managing director of Meru Cabs. 

Again in 2018, Gupta had conceded that the corporate’s income from the B2C (enterprise to shopper) section was falling on account of Ola and Uber taking the lead in India. He had stated that Meru Cabs would give attention to ramping up its B2B choices for company gamers. 

“The best viable option for us is to focus on B2B. We are looking at a three-year time frame where the model will shift from a B2C business to a B2B business. Eventually, it will keep on growing much faster than B2C for us,” Gupta had added. 

The corporate was seeking to pivot its enterprise to a B2B-centric mannequin, the place 70-75% of its revenues would come from its choices for companies, corresponding to automotive leases, worker transportation and airport contracts.

Two years down the road, that pivot to a B2B-heavy enterprise mannequin is but to totally come by means of, for the reason that income from worker transportation and automotive rental providers, in addition to airport costs, constitutes round 34% of the corporate’s whole working income for FY20. Whereas the figures point out that the income from the B2B section is rising at a speedy tempo, it nonetheless hasn’t helped the corporate make a revenue. Actually, as famous above, the losses have solely widened, from INR 3.57 Cr in FY19 to INR 10.64 Cr this 12 months. 

However, the give attention to the B2B section stays. Earlier this month, Gupta reiterated that plan, saying that indulging in a B2C warfare wasn’t on the corporate’s radar. “We are not really wanting to get into the B2C segment war. We want to focus on offering cab services wherever we are present and not beyond. We would be focusing on B2B through the mobility platform that we have created,” Gupta advised Mint.

Meru Cabs presents the MeruBiz service for companies, which incorporates worker commute, airport transfers, automotive leases, metropolis rides, outstation enterprise rides and occasions and conferences, amongst different providers. 

As for its financials, Meru Cabs might but have to attend to mark a revenue on its steadiness sheet, with the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting enterprise for ride-hailing firms. 

Though, the corporate’s managing director Gupta has claimed that it revamped 2 lakh deliveries throughout the lockdown by partnering with ecommerce majors Flipkart and Amazon for the supply of necessities. 

“(In) August we were doing close to 50,000 bookings per month, now this time (September) we will be clocking 65,000-70,000 bookings per month, a growth of 15-20 per cent, with growth in intra-city rides,” he stated.

Earlier this month, Inc42 reported that Meru Cabs is eyeing consolidation within the electrical autos (EV) section, with a deliberate funding of $10 Mn within the know-how and electrical mobility section by 2020-end. Additionally it is planning to create an infrastructure to function a fleet of over 300 EVs throughout India. It plans to extend its fleet dimension and add 10,000 EVs quickly.