Supply chain financing startup Mintifi reported a 3.7-fold jump in profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 92.5 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 24.8 crore in the previous fiscal year.
The company, which recently closed $180 million (around Rs 1,494 crore) Series E funding round, saw a 72 percent year-on-year growth in operating scale, with its revenue from operations rising to Rs 384 crore, up from Rs 223 crore in the previous fiscal, shows filings sourced by TheKredible.
The firm's revenue was primarily driven by a 2x growth in interest income from loans, which made up 80 percent of the total revenue, amounting to Rs 308 crore. Mintifi earned Rs 17 crore from interest on current investments, bringing its total revenue for FY24 to Rs 401 crore, a 76.6 percent surge from Rs 227 crore in FY23.
At the same time, expenses surged due to the expanding the scale. Employee benefits cost rose 65 percent to Rs 66 crore, while inventory procurement costs stood at Rs 70 crore. The finance cost also increased by 54 percent to Rs 54 crore. Overall, Mintifi's expenditure grew by 44.3 percent to Rs 277 crore in FY24.
Read | Mintifi closes $180 million Series E funding round led by Ontario Teachers', Prosus
Anchor-led strategy
Founded in 2017 by Anup Agarwal, Ankit Mehta, and Sanjoy Shome, Mintifi raised $180 million in a Series E round in December, co-led by GTV and Prosus. The funding round, which comprised a combination of primary and secondary transactions, valued the company at $850 million, shows the Traxcn analysis.
Other notable investors include Premji Invest, Elevation Capital, and Lok Capital.
Moneycontrol was the first to report on Mintifi's funding talks, highlighting early interest from prominent investors such as Ontario Teachers’ and other private equity majors.
Mintifi, which turned profitable in FY23, works with over 300 brands in India, including Asian Paints, Parle Products, Honda, and Shree Cement, enabling them, distributors, and retailers to digitise B2B payments, manage credit, and access inventory financing, alongside offering working capital loans.
Through Mintifi’s services, distributors and retailers can procure inventory while deferring payments.
It has also introduced loans against property and for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This includes a credit line of up to Rs 2 crore for businesses looking to buy inventory directly from brands/distributors and collateral-free business loans of up to Rs 50 lakh, as per the firm’s website.
The platform processes over $3 billion (Rs 24,900 crore) in invoices annually, which is expected to double to $6 billion (Rs 49,800 crore) by FY26, the company said. The firm, which houses NBFC Mintifi Finserve Private Limited, offers credit via its own books in partnership with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, Fullerton India, and Muthoot Finance.
On a monthly basis, it was reportedly disbursing around $100 million in credit and was on track to increase the size to approximately $400 million (Rs 3,320 crore) this year, growing its loan book to over $1 billion (Rs 8,300 crore).
The firm competes with KredX, Oxyzo, FinAGG, Cashflo, Cashinvoice, Vayana, and Credable in the invoice discounting space, as well as with InCred, Lendingkart, NeoGrowth, Flexiloan, Indifi, and others in the business working capital loan segment.
Strong growth in SME lending
At a recent Moneycontrol fintech conclave, Mintifi co-founder Anup Agarwal discussed the current state of lending in India. While unsecured lending faces headwinds in the consumer space, lending to SMEs remains robust, as agreed by the panelists. The demand from MSMEs continues to be strong, driven by the need for business investments rather than consumption-driven borrowing.
Read | Disbursement an expense, collection is revenue: Fintech founders decode realities of SME lending
“Clearly, there was some concern when the regulator increased the risk weightage on unsecured lending earlier this year,” acknowledged Agarwal. However, he emphasised a critical point: “What’s crucial is that the regulator has consistently shown strong support for SME lending, especially within the priority sector lending (PSL).”
He further explained that the regulatory changes did not impact SME lending, as the risk weightage increase was specifically excluded for businesses serving this sector. “The regulation specifically carved out an exception for those focused on SME lending,” Agarwal said. “From our conversations across the ecosystem, we’ve not seen any significant impact from these changes.”
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