Byju's audited revenue likely to be lower than projected numbers

Byju Raveendran, Byju’s founder and CEO.

Audited revenue and projected revenue of Byju's may differ significantly. Founder and CEO Byju Raveendran informed the board and shareholders about the difference, according to a report.

The company is yet to submit its annual report for FY21. Raveendran said that the difference might be due to the change in how the start-up recognises its revenue. The actual revenue would be lower than projected, according to an Economic Times report.

The company has been under intense scrutiny from regulators and investors for the last 18 months, since March 2021. The ed-tech platform, India's most valuable start-up at $22 billion, had earlier requested an extension because Deloitte had not yet signed the reports.

Raveendran was "pitching it as an accounting policy change which has enforced by the auditor," a person aware of the matter said, as quoted by the report.

Also Read | Byju's to make financial results public next week

Investors will also receive financial statements at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) in the next few days. Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, T Rowe Price, and Blackrock are among the company's investors.

A Bloomberg report had earlier stated that the bond prices of the company for its $1.2 billion term loan B (TLB) were down 32 percent on Monday. The company may attribute the lower revenue to "business model changed due to Covid-19," The ET report added.

In the last two years, the company has spent $2.5 billion to acquire various education firms including Aakash Institute.

Also Read | Byju’s failure to publish accounts prompts scrutiny of edtech giant

The company was in discussion with Abu Dhabi's Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) for raising in the range of USD 400-500 million and USD 250-350 million, respectively, according to the sources. The company plans to use the fund for inorganic expansion, especially in the US, as per a report by PTI.