Ola losses mount to Rs 796 cr in FY15

Ola earned Rs 421 crore revenue, an eight fold increase over the previous year, due to commissions earned from drivers

Taxi-hailing app Ola reported 20 times more losses at Rs 796 crore for the year ending March 2015 against loss in the previous year. Losses mounted from funding incentives to drivers and discounts to users, and grabbing market share against rival Uber in the country.

Bengaluru-based Ola earned revenue of Rs 421 crore, an eight-fold increase over the previous year, due to commissions earned from these drivers on trips, taken by customers. Ola made this in regulatory filings early  this week. The company reported Rs 1,125 crore in other expenses, indicating the money it spent to acquire local rival, Taxi For Sure, to consolidate its business for taking on Uber.

In October 2014, Ola raised $210 million (Rs 1,260 crore) from SoftBank, a month after Nikesh Arora joined the Japanese investor. Arora announced his exit from SoftBank early this week.

Ola and rival Uber work on a model where they offer incentives to encourage more taxis on the road and acquire users, offering discounts on each ride. While they tune incentives and discounts based on demand in each cities, they charge a 25 per cent fixed commission for every ride from the driver.