UpGrad To Turn Profitable This Quarter, Says Co-Founder Mayank Kumar

UpGrad's consumer business division is set to turn profitable in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, according to Co-founder and Managing Director Mayank Kumar. While, its enterprise division is already making profit, he said.

"We look at our business as B2C and B2B, and within B2C there are several segments. Our enterprise business is profitable, while the consumer business is turning profitable this quarter," Kumar told NDTV Profit on the sidelines of the IAMAI India Digital Summit.

For context, UpGrad posted a revenue of Rs 1,194 crore in FY23 from Rs 608 crore in FY22. However, it posted loss of about Rs 558 crore, excluding a one-time non-cash write off.

"We believe there has to be an investment done to take the consumer business to a particular scale. Our focus in the coming year will be on expanding the B2C segment along with consolidating the B2B space," Kumar said.

Currently, roughly 20% Of UpGrad's revenue comes from international markets, and the rest comes from India. But Kumar sees that changing going forward.

"We expect international revenue to grow significantly, partly by mergers and acquisitions and organic growth as well. Once that happens, the focus is to expand and go much deeper in India. Our larger focus of geographies has been in the U.S., Middle East, and Southeast Asia. But you'll see Middle East and Europe also becoming bigger in the next financial year," he said.

On the ripples being felt by edtech players amid the Byju's implosion, Kumar said one company doesn't define the entire edtech segment.

There will be an in-conversation impact. There are instances of companies going down under, but it doesn't take away the sector, he said. "As an organisation, whatever is happening with a company on the sidelines, doesn't impact our vision."

The company is well-funded for upcoming mergers and acquisitions. There might be one, or two funding rounds before it heads for a public listing, Kumar said.

UpGrad is looking at the key metrics of revenue of about $750 million, or Rs 6,200 crore, about a 70% gross margin and 15% net margin as gauges to judge the timing for an IPO, according to Kumar.

"For us, it's very important to list only once we're at a certain scale. We're aiming a particular size and scale and when you're listing, you need to be at a critical mass to operate at," he said.