Mumbai-based Vakrangee Limited, a technology-driven company focused on building India’s largest network of last-mile retail outlets, announced a sharp increase in its profits for the second quarter ended September 30, 2023.
The company’s profit after tax jumped 210.55% to Rs. 42.39 lakhs compared to the same quarter last year. EBITDA also rose 40.80% to Rs. 667.53 lakhs on a year-on-year basis.
Revenue rose 6.52% year-on-year to Rs. 5,2.29 cr.
The results reflect the steady expansion of Vakrangee’s network of physical retail outlets called Vakrangee Kendras across semi-urban and rural parts of India. The outlets provide banking, ATM, insurance, e-governance and e-commerce services to previously underserved markets.
The company now has over 12,000 plus outlets across the country, covering 30 states and union territories, 650+ districts and 5,300+ postal codes. The network processed transactions worth over Rs. 13,074 crore in Q2 with over 3.31 crore transactions during the quarter.
Commenting on the results, Vakrangee MD & CEO Dinesh Nandwana said, “Our current focus has been on expanding our presence through building a master franchisee network and strengthening our first-mover advantage. We have appointed master franchisees in 341 districts across 26 states to provide on-ground operational support.”
The company aims to achieve coverage across all districts in India with over 3 lakh outlets by 2030. It has launched ‘Vision 2030’ targeting revenue of $1 billion with gross transaction value exceeding $150 billion driven by the physical and digital platform.
Vakrangee has been integrating new digital capabilities into its physical outlets. The outlets provide assisted e-commerce services along with access to a mobile app called BharatEasy Super App that offers a range of banking, payments, e-commerce and logistic services.
The strategy, according to the company, is to bridge the gap between physical and digital India by offering convenience and real-time services to underpenetrated markets in a low-cost franchise model. This has helped Vakrangee expand its reach rapidly across India.
The Q2 results signal the business model is gaining traction, resulting in higher revenues, transactions and profitability. The company attributed relatively slower quarter-on-quarter growth to seasonal factors and remains confident of improved performance in the coming festive quarter.
Vakrangee aims to capitalize on rising rural penetration of data services, Aadhaar-enabled payments and massive government investments in financial inclusion. It is positioning itself as the go-to-market platform for banking, insurance, logistics and e-commerce firms looking to tap into rural and semi-urban markets.
The company’s planned outlet expansion, along with new tie-ups with partners across sectors from banking to e-commerce, is expected to drive Vakrangee’s next growth phase.
