Expected To Return A Negative Net Cash Flow
Online classifieds portal Quikr's valuation is pegged at ₹10,832.15 crore ($1.5 billion), according to an independent valuation report filed by the company with the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) on 7 May, 2019.
The report, prepared by Quikr’s auditors in November 2018, estimated the company to turn in an operating loss of ₹230.09 crore ($32 million) for the financial year ended March 2019 (FY 2018-19).
On the other hand, Swedish investor AB Kinnevik, a key shareholder in Quikr has pegged the company’s valuation lower at $921 million as of 30 June, 2019. Kinnevik, which holds a 17% stake in Quikr, said the fair value of its holding was marked at Swedish Kroner 1,542 million ($156.7 million) for the quarter ended June 2019 (Q2FY19), according to its interim quarterly report.
The Kinnevik report also said that for the first half of 2019 (H1 2019), Quikr generated around $65 million ( ₹465.13 crore) in “annualized cash revenue at a year-on-year growth rate of just under 70%". In the financial year ended March 2018 (FY 2017-18), Quikr had reported revenues of ₹199.98 crore.
"Over half of Quikr’s revenue is now generated from commissions on transactions taking place on its platform, rather than traditional listing fees," Kinnevik added in the quarterly report.
Quikr is also expected to return a negative net cash flow of ₹153.69 crore for FY19, according to its auditor’s valuation report. This means that Quikr might have more outgoing cash on its balance sheet compared with incoming money, indicating that the company might have to raise additional financing sooner.
Quikr has so far raised more than $440 million from investors such as Warburg Pincus, Tiger Global, Norwest Venture Partners, and Omidyar Networks among others. Quikr last raised ₹20 crore in debt funding from Trifecta Capital in July.
Bengaluru-based Quikr also raised $150 million in a Series H round in April 2015 from Kinnevik, Tiger Global and Steadview Capital, in a round that valued the firm at nearly $1 billion. Mint reported in September 2018 that Quikr was in talks to raise between $100 million and $150 million.
Quikr has been expanding steadily into different classifieds verticals including automobiles, real estate, jobs, services, and customer-to-customer sales. Each vertical segment has its own business head reporting to chief executive Pranay Chulet.
The company has also been on an acquisition spree ever since its inception in 2008. It has spent millions, mostly in stock, acquiring 15 firms to date. Its largest acquisition was that of real estate portal CommonFloor for an estimated $120 million in January 2016. Earlier this year, Quikr also acquired refurbished goods marketplace Zefo for $30 million in April.