E-commerce firm Snapdeal posts Rs 46.4 billion net loss in 2016-17

E-commerce firm Snapdeal saw its losses mounting to Rs 46.4 billion for the fiscal year ending March 2017, impacted by a provision for “impairment of goodwill” of Rs17.9 billion.
 

According to the regulatory filing to the corporate affairs ministry by Jasper Infotech, which runs Snapdeal, had registered a net loss of Rs 33.4 billion in 2015-16.
 

The firm’s total income also declined by 12.6 per cent to Rs12.9 billion in FY17 from Rs14.7 billion in the previous year.
 

When contacted, Snapdeal spokesperson said the financial statement for the year 2016-17 “reflects the first stage of Snapdeal’s focus on unit economics and business efficiencies”. “Key highlights in this regard are the reduction in fulfilment cost by more than 20 per cent (as a percentage of operating revenue) and reduction in operational losses by nearly 25 per cent (excluding non-recurring cost on account of impairment of assets),” the spokesperson said.
 

He added that the company continues to make “rapid progress in driving profitable growth, which will be reflected in the results for the financial year 2017-18”.
 

Snapdeal has seen its business being impacted severely by the intense competition in the e-commerce segment. While players, including the likes of Amazon and Flipkart, have pumped in billions of dollars in investments, they continue to operate in losses. Analysts are of the view that it will be a couple of years before these players can hit profitability.
 

Last year, Snapdeal dumped the $950-million takeover offer from Flipkart with Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal saying the company will pursue a fresh strategy in the Indian market.
 

Last year, Snapdeal sold its payment services unit, Freecharge to Axis Bank for Rs3.85 billion, almost 90 per cent lower than what it had paid for the firm in 2015.
 

In January this year, its logistics arm, Vulcan Express, was acquired by Kishore Biyani’s Future Supply Chain Solutions in an all-cash deal valued at Rs 350 million.
 

Snapdeal has also significantly reduced its headcount to rein in costs.