Deloitte gives clean audit opinion on VerSe Innovation's FY24 financials

VerSe Innovation Pvt Ltd, the parent of content platform Dailyhunt and short-video app Josh, on Tuesday said its longtime auditor Deloitte issued a clean opinion on its financial year 2024 (FY24) consolidated financial statements, affirming they present a true and fair view.

 

VerSe Innovation said Deloitte identified weaknesses in internal controls but confirmed the issues did not affect its opinion on the company’s consolidated financial statements, which it said present a true and fair view.

 

"Deloitte has issued a true and fair view of our FY24 consolidated financial statements, providing a clean audit opinion on our financials. While Deloitte identified certain internal control weaknesses, their report has clearly confirmed that these findings do not impact their opinion on the consolidated financial statements, which is true and fair,” said a VerSe Innovation spokesperson. “We are fully committed to strengthening our internal controls and remain confident in our plan to achieve break-even in the second half of this financial year.”

 

According to media reports, Deloitte flagged weaknesses in VerSe Innovation’s internal controls, citing inadequate oversight in supplier selection, purchase approvals, invoicing, and payments. The audit firm warned the lapses could lead to material misstatements in trade payables and expense accounts, and potentially result in preferential payments or asset misappropriation. The findings were included in VerSe’s FY24 consolidated financial statements, filed with India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on Monday. Deloitte said the control deficiencies were identified in the company’s standalone financials as of March 31.

 

“We have considered the material weaknesses identified and reported above in determining the nature, timing, and extent of audit tests applied in our audit of the consolidated financial statements of the company for the year ended March 31, 2024, and these material weaknesses do not affect our opinion on the said consolidated financial statements of the company (our report on the consolidated financial statements includes an emphasis of matter paragraph in respect of retrospective adjustments made in the corresponding figures for the year ended March 31, 2023),” Deloitte said in the MCA filing.

 

VerSe Innovation said FY24 marked a pivotal year of recalibration and stability for the company. The key financial highlights include a 51 per cent year-on-year reduction in Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) burn, from Rs 1,448 crore in FY23 to Rs 710 crore in FY24 (excluding non-cash expenses).

 

It achieved a total revenue of Rs 1,261 crore, with an additional Rs 232 crore from non-operating income. There was a 17 per cent reduction in cost of services, from Rs 1,389 crore in FY23 to Rs 1,155 crore in FY24. There was also a 65 per cent reduction in business promotion expenses, down from Rs 969 crore in FY23 to Rs 339 crore in FY24.

 

Building on the operational discipline and platform strength achieved in FY24, VerSe said it is entering FY25 projecting revenue growth to exceed 75 per cent. The firm said it is significantly outpacing India’s digital advertising industry, which is projected to grow at 10–15 per cent. The company said it is on track to achieve break-even in H2 2025, led by a combination of product innovation, automation, and revenue expansion.

 

VerSe Innovation, based in Bengaluru, was founded in 2007 by Virendra Gupta and Umang Bedi. It operates as a developer of a short-video platform and technology infrastructure. VerSe has raised $1.2 billion in funding from investors like CPP Investments, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Qatar Investment Authority, and Matrix Partners. Its top competitors include platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.