Flipkart's largest unit posts hefty revenue growth, cuts losses

Any reduction in losses could mean the return of investor confidence, something Flipkart needs badly

Breaking News : Flipkart India Pvt Ltd, the largest unit of India's biggest e-commerce marketplace, was able to increase revenues by 43 per cent and cut losses by over 34 per cent in the financial year 2015-16 as investors began to mount pressure to see tangible results.

The Flipkart unit posted a revenue of Rs 13,177 crore for the 12 months that ended March 2016, compared to the Rs 9,226 crore in revenue it posted in the year ago period. Losses shrunk to Rs 544.6 crore, from Rs 826.7 crore in the corresponding periods, according to regulatory documents filed by the company.

While losses for its cash-and-carry business were down, it was offset by the higher losses posted by Flipkart's marketplace arm, bringing the total loss of the company to Rs 2,850 crore. The combined revenue for the two units stood at Rs 15,129 crore for the financial year.

Flipkart has set up a complex holding structure, with several entities listed in Singapore, making it hard to ascertain the exact revenue and loss figures.

Despite hefty growth in revenues in the previous financial year, investors continued to punish Flipkart's valuation. After a series of markdowns by mutual fund investors, Morgan Stanley set a valuation of just $5.58 billion for the three months that ended September. Flipkart had enjoyed a peak valuation of $15.2 billion, making it among the top valued start-ups in the world.Read more.

Mehbooba Mufti likely to be first woman CM of J&K

Mehbooba Mufti is likely to be the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir as she has emerged as the unanimous choice for the post following the death of incumbent, and her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today.

"As far as PDP is concerned, we are unanimous that Mehbooba shall succeed Mufti Sahib," senior PDP leader and Lok Sabha member Muzaffar Hussain Baig told reporters.

ALSO READ: J&K chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passes away

However, Mehbooba's ascent to the post of the Chief Minister would require approval of BJP, the junior coalition partner in the state government.

Govt eyes annual savings of Rs 300 crore from removal of LPG subsidy

The government’s latest decision to cut subsidised cooking gas sales to consumers with an annual taxable income of above Rs 10 lakh is likely to translate into annual Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) subsidy savings of Rs 300 crore, according to the oil ministry.

This is in addition to savings from the elimination of duplicate or fake connections as a result of implementation of the direct benefit transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme — Rs 14,600 crore in FY15 — and additional savings of around Rs 2,000 crore through the GiveitUp campaign under which 5.7 million consumers have voluntarily surrendered their subsidy so far.

“According to our estimates, there are two million consumers in the Rs 10 lakh-plus slab (of taxable income). Some of these are already covered under GiveitUp. We are estimating savings of roughly Rs 300 crore per annum,” said a senior