EdTech Giant UpGrad: A Closer Look at FY23’s Impressive Revenue Surge

UpGrad, one of Asia’s largest integrated learning, skilling, and workforce development companies, has shown a remarkable performance in the fiscal year ending March 2023.

  1. Revenue Growth: UpGrad’s revenue surged by 96% to Rs 1,194 crore in FY23, up from Rs 608 crore in FY22. This significant growth is attributed to the company’s diverse online programs and commissions from universities, which are the primary sources of its revenue​​.
  2. Learner Base Expansion: The company has crossed a 10 million learner base, with its paid learner base growing by 54% year-over-year. UpGrad serviced 1,110 enterprise clients and expects to retain 75% of them in the current fiscal year​​​​.
  3. Expenditure and Cost Management: Employee benefits accounted for around 40% of UpGrad’s overall expenditure, increasing to Rs 707 crore in FY23 from Rs 394 crore in FY22. Interestingly, the company managed to decrease its advertising and promotion costs by 8.2% to Rs 371 crore. Other significant expenses included a 69% increase in university fees to Rs 132 crore, and costs for content, IT, legal-professional fees, and overheads, leading to a total expenditure of Rs 1,752 crore in FY23​​.
  4. Bottom Line and Profitability: UpGrad’s bottom line remained flat at Rs 558 crore in FY23, similar to Rs 572 crore in FY22. The company’s gross margins are close to 80%, with zero net debt. It has raised $265 million since inception and is tracking to be operationally profitable in the second half of FY24​​​​.
  5. Accounting Standards and Adjusted Figures: Moving to the IndAS accounting standard in line with its listing plans, UpGrad’s gross revenue was Rs 1,530 crore. Adjusted for IndAS, the revenue stood at Rs 1,194 crore for FY23. The adjusted EBITDA loss was Rs 558 crore, compared to Rs 572 crore in the previous year​​.
  6. Non-cash Expenses and Total Loss: Non-cash expenses in FY23 included an accelerated goodwill write-down of Rs 410 crore and depreciation and amortisation costs of Rs 140 crore, with a finance cost of Rs 34 crore. These led to a total Profit After Tax (PAT) loss of Rs 1,142 crore, up from Rs 648 crore in the previous financial year​​.
  7. Cost Reduction and Investment in Content: Marketing costs were sharply reduced to 19% (Rs 371 Crore) of total costs, down from 33% (Rs 403 crore) in the previous year. Employee costs remained high at 36% (Rs 707 crore), including non-cash costs for ESOP accounting. Direct costs increased to Rs 382 crore from Rs 211 crore in the previous year, reflecting investments in content development and delivery​​.
  8. Future Prospects: UpGrad, which did not announce material layoffs in the last 12-18 months, is now focusing on its enterprise arm and international revenue. It aims for a higher share of international revenue of 21% in FY24 compared to 10% in FY23. The company has also assisted over 55,000 job transitions in the last financial year​​.

Overall, UpGrad’s financial performance in FY23 highlights robust revenue growth, significant learner base expansion, and effective cost management, with a focus on scaling its enterprise and international operations in the upcoming fiscal year.

Share:

MORE STORIES

## Navigating the AI Revolution: 5 Trending Google Ads Topics for Marketers As Google Ads continues its rapid evolution, staying ahead of the curve is paramount for digital marketers. The platform’s increasing reliance on artificial intelligence, shifting privacy landscapes, and the introduction of new campaign types are creating a fresh set of challenges and opportunities. Here are five top trending blog topics that delve into the most critical areas of Google Ads today. ### 1. The Rise of the Machines: Mastering AI-Powered Campaign Types Google is unequivocally betting on AI to drive the future of its advertising platform. A key area of focus for marketers is understanding and mastering AI-driven campaign types like Performance Max and Demand Gen. These campaigns automate targeting, bidding, and ad creation across Google’s entire inventory. A deep dive into strategies for providing the right inputs to these “black box” models, interpreting their performance, and understanding how to guide the AI for optimal results is a crucial topic for advertisers looking to succeed in this new era. ### 2. Beyond the Click: Navigating the New Landscape of Measurement and Attribution With the impending deprecation of third-party cookies and a growing emphasis on user privacy, the way advertisers measure success is undergoing a fundamental shift. This has propelled topics like enhanced conversions, consent mode, and the integration of first-party data to the forefront. Marketers are actively seeking guidance on how to implement these privacy-centric measurement solutions to gain a more accurate and holistic view of their campaign performance in a world without granular user tracking. ### 3. Creative is the New Targeting: Leveraging AI for Compelling Ad Experiences In an automated world, the creative has become a key differentiator. Google is investing heavily in AI-powered tools that can generate and optimize ad copy, images, and videos. Blog posts that explore how to effectively use these generative AI features to create a high volume of diverse and engaging ad creatives are gaining significant traction. This includes best practices for providing creative inputs, A/B testing AI-generated assets, and ensuring brand consistency across automated campaigns. ### 4. The Evolution of Search: Adapting to a More Conversational and Visual SERP The traditional keyword-based search is evolving. Users are increasingly employing longer, more conversational queries, and Google is responding with a more visual and AI-driven search engine results page (SERP). This shift requires a re-evaluation of traditional keyword research and bidding strategies. Trending discussions revolve around how to adapt to this new reality, including the role of broad match keywords, the importance of high-quality creative in visual search formats, and strategies for capturing intent in a more conversational search landscape. ### 5. Future-Proofing Your Strategy: The Growing Importance of a Full-Funnel Approach As automation takes over many of the manual levers within Google Ads, the focus is shifting towards a more strategic, full-funnel marketing approach. Advertisers are looking for insights on how to effectively use different Google Ads campaign types to guide users through the entire customer journey, from initial awareness to final conversion and retention. This includes discussions on how to structure campaigns to complement each other, allocate budgets across the funnel, and measure the impact of upper-funnel activities on bottom-line results.

Google Ads is in the midst of a quiet revolution—one driven by artificial intelligence, privacy-first regulations, and a rapidly changing search landscape. For digital marketers,

Send Us A Message