Ecommerce

Flipkart, PhonePe Moving Toward Profitability, Says Walmart CFO

• ByStartupStory     |    June 26, 2024

Flipkart and PhonePe are “on their path to profitability,” according to John David Rainey, the CFO of Walmart, which owns both Indian companies. This encouraging update was shared during an investor conference in London on Tuesday, as reported by the Economic Times.

Speaking at the conference, Rainey highlighted that Flipkart’s e-commerce segment losses have been improving. He emphasized that this progress significantly boosts Walmart’s confidence in the long-term financial outlook of the business.

A few weeks ago, Rainey indicated that Flipkart’s IPO would be influenced by its path to profitability. He stated, “We want to continue to move on this path to profitability with each of these entities. I think for investors, you want to be able to know when you do an IPO, where the economics are going, and that you are getting to a point of profitability. And so, I think the timing of that will really influence the timing of the IPO.”

In the latest quarterly analyst call held in May, Rainey mentioned that Flipkart saw double-digit growth for the quarter ended April 30. Further, Kathryn McLay, President and CEO of Walmart’s International, said that the company is evaluating the right time to launch Flipkart’s IPO. McLay commented, “And we are looking and exploring when will be the right time to IPO that business (Flipkart).”

Flipkart has been focusing on rapid expansion. The e-commerce platform recently closed a funding round of about $1 billion, with $350 million included from Google’s Alpha. From its $33 billion valuation last year, the company was valued at around $35–36 billion in the latest investment round, according to the Economic Times.

Meanwhile, digital payments and financial services platform PhonePe is making approximately $1.5 trillion in total payment volume each year, as per Rainey. He added, “Total payment volume is the equivalent metric of GMV (gross merchandise value) in the payments business. That has got to be up there as large as any payment company in the world, certainly outside of China. So, to be the largest payment provider in the largest market in the world, that’s exactly where you want to be.”

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