By M. Sriram
MUMBAI (Reuters) -Embattled Indian ed-tech giant Byju’s on Saturday reported audited results for 2022, but only for its core business, not including its multi-billion dollar acquisitions, after a year-long delay due to governance issues and its auditor resigning.
Byju’s parent Think & Learn’s operating losses fell 6% to 24 billion Indian rupees ($288.67 million) for its core online education business, while revenue more than doubled to 35.5 billion Indian rupees ($426.99 million) for the year ended March 31, 2022.
Byju’s, controlled by billionaire Byju Raveendran was one of India’s hottest startups, valued at $22 billion in 2022, but has faced a series of business crises including its auditor Deloitte and board members resigning and a U.S lawsuit disputing terms and payment of a billion dollar loan .
“The takeaways from a uniquely belligerent year, which included nine acquisitions, are life-long learnings,” Raveendran said in a statement.
Backed by investors such as General Atlantic, Prosus and Blackrock, Byju’s has over the past year laid off thousands of employees, seen its investors cut its valuation and seen its results delayed for the second consecutive year.
Last September, Byju’s filed its 2021 numbers after a 17-month delay. During the pandemic, its valuation swelled as more students took online classes, and Byju’s acquired businesses across disparate lines- from coding for children to companies providing executive MBAs
Byju’s is looking to raise up to $1 billion by selling at least two companies it acquired in 2021- Great Learning and Epic, Reuters reported in September.
($1 = 83.1400 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by M. Sriram; Editing by Michael Perry)
