Sporta Technologies, which operates the fantasy sports platform Dream11, has posted a net profit of Rs 180.77 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2020, as compared to a net loss of Rs 87.8 crore in the year-ago period, according to a Registrar of Companies filing shared by business intelligence firm Tofler.
This makes the Mumbai-based firm one of the rare consumer-focused startup unicorns in India that have recorded a profit.
As per the filing, the company's operational revenue jumped to Rs 2,070.4 crore in FY20, from Rs 775.5 crore in FY19. It attributed the revenue growth to new products and "innovative marketing strategies".
Dream11 spent heavily on advertising and promotions during the fiscal, in a bid to capitalise on the surge in mobile gaming in the country amid the pandemic-induced lockdown and also drive app installs since it is not available on Google's Play Store.
It spent Rs 821 crore on advertising in FY20, Rs 405.5 crore on business promotion and Rs 100 crore in sponsorship expenses. In comparison, the Mumbai-based startup spent Rs 330.5 crore on advertising in FY19, Rs 289.6 crore on business promotions and Rs 165 crore on sponsorship expenses.
Overall, Dream11 spent Rs 1,328 crore on advertising and promotions in FY20, a significant increase from Rs 785.1 crore in FY19.
Employee benefit expenses have also jumped to Rs 153.2 crore in FY20 from Rs 65.6 crore in FY19, while information technology expenses grew by more than five-fold to Rs 230.5 crore in FY20 from Rs 40.4 crore in FY19.
Started in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream11 claims to have over 9 crore users playing Fantasy Cricket, Football, Kabaddi, Hockey, and NBA. It was valued at $5 billion when the company closed a $400 million secondary funding led by TCV, D1 Capital Partners and Falcon Edge in March this year, almost doubling its valuation in nearly six months.
Last month, Dream11 parent Dream Sports also set up a $250 million fund to invest in sports, gaming and fitness-tech startups. It aims to invest between $1 million and $100 million in these startups across various stages. The firm has made about eight investments so far including FanCode, SoStronk, and Elevar among others.
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