RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka and Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw took digs at the edtech giant Byju’s after the company’s consolidated statement of profit and loss came out. Goenka took to Twitter and wrote, “Byju’s revenues - 2,280 crore; Byju’s losses- 4,588 crore (increases 17 times). That means you give me Rs 1 and I will return Rs 2. Valuation- $22 billion (number 1 among startups). Hottest sector to invest- edutech. Nothing is making sense to me! Can anyone explain please?”

Soon after Goenka tweeted, the Biocon boss said that these valuations are like virtual reality and don't stack up. She wrote, “It’s like virtual reality- now you see it now you don’t. Valuations just don’t stack up n yet real businesses are under valued!” To this, Goenka replied and said, “Thanks. Interesting insight!”

Commenting underneath Goenka’s post, business coach Rajeev Talreja shared a meme straight out of the Golmaal movie franchise and wrote, “It’s called “iski topi uske sar”... their hope is IPO so they can give their “In-wasters” an exit… Just relying on advertising and irrational acquisitions through money burning is a joke. I question the financial acumen of these finance experts who come up with such valuations.”

Another user wrote, “To understand this you need to update yourself by buying one of the learning packages from BYJUs… Just kidding sir ji. These companies are a perfect trap to lose money. It’s best to stay away and watch them from a distance.”

A user named Anand Vasant likened investing in startups to betting at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi race course. He wrote, “These startups are like betting at Mahalaxmi racecourse! If you win you can be called visionary or else be in 99.9 per cent loser category.”

Byju’s financial results

Byju’s reported revenues worth Rs 2,280.26 crore and losses worth Rs 4,588.75 crore in the financial year ended March 2021. Its overall revenue declined over 3 per cent to Rs 2,428.39 crore in FY21 from Rs 2,511.77 crore in the previous fiscal.
Source: BusinessToday