Bengaluru: Ola on Thursday said it has appointed former Unilever executive Hemant Bakshi as the chief executive officer (CEO) for its mobility business, which turned Ebitda positive in fiscal year 2023 (FY23) for the first time, as it looks to focus on areas including ride-hailing and e-commerce services.
A company with a positive Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) indicates that its core operations are making profits.
The mobility business posted an adjusted Ebitda of about ₹250 crore in FY23, compared to a loss of ₹66 crore a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing.
“As Ola’s India Mobility business turns profitable in FY23..our focus on sustainable growth..has also set the stage for an exciting future of expansion and industry leadership,” Bakshi said in a statement. The company is now divided into three business segments—Ola Mobility, Ola Financial Services and Ola Logistics—to streamline operations.
The company looks to enter into the e-commerce space through complete electrification of its fleet. Last year, Ola launched its electric bike taxis in Bengaluru, offering rides at ₹25 for 5km and ₹50 for 10km, with plans for nationwide expansion. The e-bike service, which is a part of its larger mobility business, began with parcels, food and groceries, and expects to grow into other additional categories as well. It also expects to establish a national charging network to support this category.
The government’s push for electrification is also a big advantage for companies like Ola. Last year, Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said all vehicles have to be electric after 2030 with an aim to target commercial vehicles to reduce pollution in the capital city.
“Ride-hailing is still significantly under-penetrated in India.. We can unlock significant growth if we can provide convenience, choice and affordability to our consumers,” Bakshi said, adding that tailwinds are also strong for the logistics and online commerce sector. “We see this space grow to $150 billion by 2025 with the bulk of growth expected to come from tier-2/3 towns and lower SEC consumers in larger cities”.
Within the broader ambitions to electrify and enhance mobility, Ola also emphasised on opportunities within the e-commerce and logistics space as it hopes to benefit from a large customer base, gig-worker platform and other technological capabilities.
Financial services is another area where the company aims to build more expertise in providing services ranging from payments, lending, asset financing and insurance to its partners and riders.
Meanwhile, the group’s consolidated net loss narrowed to ₹772.25 crore in FY23, compared to a loss of ₹1,522.33 crore a year earlier, as per the regulatory filing.
Total income, which includes revenues from operations, increased by about 48% to ₹2,481.35 crore in FY23 from ₹1,679.54 crore in the previous fiscal year.
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Omprakash Tiwary is a business writer who delves into the intricacies of the corporate world. With a focus on finance and economic landscape. He offers readers valuable insights into market trends, entrepreneurship, and economic developments.
