Ather Energy loss narrows to ₹234.4 crore in Q4 on better gross margins-OxBig News Network

Ather electric scooters are seen outside the showroom in Mumbai, India, January 28, 2022.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy, which made its debut on stock exchanges early this month, on Monday reported an 18% drop in losses to ₹234.40 crore for the March quarter aided by better gross margins.

The company had posted a loss of ₹283.30 crore in the year-ago period.

The income from operations during the quarter rose 29.5% to ₹676.1 crore from ₹523.4 crore a year ago, it said.

For 2024-25, Ather Energy posted a net loss of ₹812 crore compared to ₹1,059.70 crore a year ago.

The company, in a presentation, said it sold 47,411 two-wheelers during the March quarter as against 35,244 units retailed in the corresponding quarter of FY 24, registering a year-on-year growth of 35%.

“March quarter saw adjusted gross margin improving by 900 basis points while EBITDA — earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation — improved by 1,900 basis points. Volumes were robust, and we exited the quarter with strong market share gains at 13.3%, particularly in the south, and in new markets which have ramped up post-Rizta’s launch,” Ather Energy Chief Financial Officer Sohil Parekh told PTI.

Adjusted gross margin for Q4 FY25 stood at 18% as against 9% in the same quarter of the year earlier while EBITDA was seen at negative 23% in the previous quarter vis-a-vis negative 42% in Q4FY24.

Together, he said, this reflects not just revenue growth, but healthy discipline and strong fundamentals, laying a strong foundation for the company’s path to profitability.

Ather’s current product portfolio comprises performance-focused 450 series and family-ride Rizta scooters.

He said the company expanded its retail footprint by 32% in the March quarter of the previous fiscal alone and thereby closing the year with 351 experience centres across India. This helped drive deeper market penetration, especially in North and West India, where Rizta as a convenient scooter form factor has been gaining share Rapidly, Parekh said.

“Our goal is to ensure a strong presence across the non-South markets as well. With the right form factor, we are very bullish about scaling our product portfolio now,” he said.

Rizta has seen exceptional response since its deliveries began in the second quarter of FY25, adding it now contributes as much as 57% of the Ather stroke volume, at the close of the fiscal, becoming a significant driver of growth in a very short span of time.

Its appeal in the family and utility segment has allowed the company to expand its addressable market meaningfully and gain traction in newer geographies like Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, he stated.

“We enter this FY26 with a lot of optimism. This optimism is based on the last few quarters with already strong growth based on the 450. The Rizta coming in changed our trajectory of growth starting in July of last year and it allowed us to consolidate and solidify our position in the south,” said Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer at Ather Energy.

“FY25 has been a year of robust growth, with strong increases in both volume and profitability, year-on-year. On the back of our new product launches, we saw strong volume growth of 42%, and our continued investments in engineering and R&D delivered a strong improvement in margins,” Tarun Mehta, Executive Director and CEO at Ather Energy, said in a statement.

Adjusted gross margins doubled, growing by approximately 1,000 basis points and that helped reduce EBIDTA losses by approximately 1,300 basis points Over the preceding year,” he said.

“Our software sales have continued to trend strongly, with 88% of our customers choosing to buy our Pro Pack in FY25, contributing to improvement of our bottom line. Q4 was a strong quarter for distribution and saw a 32% expansion in our pan-India store count,” he said.

Ather Energy shares closed higher by 3.29% at ₹309.55 per share on BSE on Monday. Ather Energy made its debut on stock exchanges on May 6 after its ₹2,981-crore IPO.