Ratan Tata-backed Upstox breaks even in FY23, aims 10x growth in user base

Ratan Tata-backed discount brokerage Upstox has broken even in the 2022-23 financial year with total revenues crossing Rs 1,000 crore, a senior official said.

The company, which also counts Tiger Global among its external investors, is aiming for a 10-fold jump in its customer base to Rs 10 crore in the next five to six years, co-founder and CEO Ravi Kumar told PTI.

Its operating income grew by 40 per cent to Rs 1,000 crore, he said, adding that it also generated positive net cash flow of around Rs 130 crore in the last quarter of the 2022-23 financial year.

The CEO of the company said that it has cash reserves of over Rs 1,000 crore now, and is looking for both organic and inorganic growth opportunities.

He stressed that we remain committed to driving sustainable and profitable growth.

At present, the company, which was founded in 2009, serves 1.1 crore clients across the country, with more than 85 percent of them based in tier 2 and tier 3 cities and 70 percent as first-time investors.

Kumar said that Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Thane, Bangalore, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Nashik and Nagpur have the highest contribution to the customer base.

The company, which raised $100 million as part of its Series C funding in January 2022, has no plans to raise the money at this time.

Kumar said the financial stability of the company, which competes with competitors such as Zerodha, will help it strengthen its market position through organic and inorganic avenues, and help it achieve the ambition of having 100 million customers in the next 5-6 years.

The company said that less than 5 percent of Indians invest in stocks and the total potential in the Indian market is still largely untapped.

In the past 18 months, it has decided to focus on the Indian market and has paused expansion in the US to prioritize efforts to grow its business locally in India.