Astrotalk: Astrotalk rides online astrology boom to double FY24 revenue to Rs 651 crore

Which confirms a boom in demand for Online Astrology services, based in Noida Astroconversation It has seen its operating income for FY24 more than double year-on-year to Rs 651 crore as it expanded its presence in domestic and international markets.

The startup also saw its net profit rise more than tenfold to Rs 94 crore for the year ended March 2024, according to its financial statements seen by ET.

Astrotalk has not yet filed its financial statements with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Astrotalk, which raised its first institutional funding last fiscal, has managed to grow its revenue six-fold in two years. It had reported an operating income of Rs 115 crore in FY22.

To be on the safe side, the company recognizes its revenue before making payments to the astrologers on its platform. This cost is recorded under professional expenses, which doubled in FY24 to Rs 319 crore.

Astrotalk operates on a revenue-sharing model among the 10,000+ active astrologers on its platform. Its pricing structure ranges from Rs 10 to Rs 200 per minute.

anmol jainJain, co-founder of Astrotalk, said the company was able to scale efficiently last fiscal with fixed costs under control, resulting in improved margins. “With our world-class technology and products, we were able to expand aggressively both internationally and domestically,” Jain told ET. “We were able to scale efficiently with similar fixed costs, which is a testament to our superior business model. The increase in profits is due to increased operational efficiency across the marketing, product and service delivery chains.”

Founded in 2015 by Jain and Puneet Gupta, who is the CEO of the company, Astrotalk reported its first profit in FY21 at Rs 11 crore.

Astrotalk currently handles a monthly volume of approximately 4.5 million paid consultations between its clients and astrologers, the bulk of which are marriage-related consultations, followed by employment-related consultations. It also records another 6 million free sessions.

The company has so far raised $30 million from investors. including New York-based Left Lane Capital and Elev8 Venturesand is currently valued at $300 million.

Jain said the company is planning to expand inorganically in the current year by looking at potential acquisition targets.

During fiscal year 2024, Astrotalk increased its marketing spend, with costs under this heading increasing from Rs 74 crore in fiscal year 2023 to Rs 157 crore. Its employee costs for the year stood at Rs 30 crore compared to Rs 23 crore in fiscal year 2023.

Looking ahead, the startup plans to go public in 2026, Jain said.

“In the coming years, we plan to increase our profit after tax to a range of Rs 300-400 crore and eventually file for a IPO in 2026… We are also making strategic investments in e-commerce and devotional categories, and we look forward to making synergistic acquisitions this year,” he added.

Nearly one-fifth of Astrotalk’s revenue comes from international markets, while its e-commerce business contributes 5% of its gross revenue. In the e-commerce segment, Astrotalk sells products such as gemstones and other items needed for devotional or astrological rituals.

Earlier this year, Astrotalk expanded its services to include e-puja, entering a competitive field with players like Vama, Utsav and DevDham (formerly DevDarshan).

On September 10, AppsforBharat, the parent company of the Sri Mandir online devotional platform, raised 18 million dollars of Information systems Fundamentum from Chairman Nandan Nilekani and other investors such as Susquehanna, Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners and Mirae Asset VC.