Licious FY24 loss drops by 44%, 3rd party channel closures impact revenue

This growth is majorly fueled by the launch of 17 native GenAI language models in India, a 4.6 times surge in GenAI services

Meat and seafood delivery brand Licious on Wednesday said it has shaved its losses by 44 per cent in financial year 2023-24 (FY24) to Rs 293.77 crore, from 524.18 crore in FY23.

Delightful Gourmet, which owns Licious, said that the company’s revenue dipped 8 per cent in FY24. It was Rs 685.05 crore in FY24, down from Rs 746.38 crore in FY23.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company expects EBITDA breakeven or to turn in profits in the current financial year even as it aggressively ramps up its offline store network.

This week it acquired Bengaluru-based offline retailer ‘My Chicken and More’, which has 23 stores spread across the city.

The closure of distribution channels -- Dunzo in particular -- and the winding down of exposure to modern trade and local stores dragged revenue down as the firm revamped distribution, focusing on owned channels.

“During the pandemic fuelled surge in online consumption, we focused on scaling supply and cold chains to unprecedented levels in India, which we have accomplished. We are now focused on building a full-stack distribution operation through an omnichannel strategy. Last year has been a transition, with short-term impacts from strategic adjustments. However, we expect to see the positive results of these choices by the end of FY25,” Licious co-founders Ajay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta said.

Licious platform driven sales were up 5 per cent in a year when the branded meat company rejigged front-end distribution to focus on the route to profitability.

The losses from the closure of Dunzo and Swiggy Meatstore, alongside deprioritizing modern and general trade, were offset by the growth of quick commerce deliveries, which increased 35 per cent YoY.

Licious is piloting 30-minute deliveries in Gurgaon as it shifts to a full-stack D2C model, ensuring a consistent and better customer experience.

Serving nearly 1.2 million consumers monthly via the Licious app, the company has built a robust online distribution model. Currently, 85 per cent of its business is conducted on the app. Its flagship loyalty program, Infiniti, now has 2 lakh weekly active subscribers, contributing to 58% of the company's monthly business.