Swiggy, a leading food delivery platform, experienced a significant increase in losses during 2022, as revealed in an investor filing. Data extracted from Prosus, the Netherlands-based investment firm holding a 33% stake in Swiggy, indicates that the company incurred a loss of $540 million (over Rs 4,400 crore) in that calendar year.
This represents an 80% surge compared to the previous year.
Prosus reported that its share of the trading loss in Swiggy rose to $180 million in the financial year 2023, up from $100 million in the preceding year. This surge can be attributed to Swiggy's investment in Instamart, its quick-service grocery delivery business.
Sriharsha Majety, the CEO of Swiggy, acknowledged that the food delivery industry had experienced a global slowdown, and Swiggy was not exempt from this trend.
However, he also mentioned that Swiggy's core food delivery business had turned profitable in March 2023, excluding the costs associated with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and was on the path to profitability.
Prosus filings further revealed that Swiggy's gross merchandise value (GMV) witnessed a modest increase of approximately 13% in 2023, reaching $2.6 billion compared to $2.3 billion in the previous year.
The growth in GMV can be attributed to the expansion of Swiggy's restaurant base, with over 272,000 enabled restaurants on its platform, a significant rise from approximately 197,000 in the financial year 2022.