Arya, the leading agritech platform specializing in foodgrain storage and sales, anticipates a substantial increase in profits, aiming to more than double its current earnings. Additionally, the company plans to achieve a remarkable 70% growth in its total revenue, targeting approximately INR 500 crore during this fiscal year. Arya’s strategic focus includes intensifying its sales efforts and expanding its customer base, distinguishing itself as the sole profitable agritech platform in this sector.
Established in 2013 by Prasanna Rao, Anand Chandra, and Chattanathan Devarajan, the Noida-based startup has garnered substantial support from notable funds such as Lightrock, Accion Quona Capital, Asia Impact Fund, and Omnivore Partners. The company has achieved a commendable revenue of INR 298 crore, generating a net income of INR 16 crore from this impressive financial performance.
These funds jointly possess a majority stake in the company, totaling 60%, and their combined investment amounts to $65 million. The company has not disclosed the specific breakdown of either their individual ownership or their respective investments.
The company has also attracted investments from debt providers such as Rabo Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, from whom it has secured loans totaling INR 980 crore up to this point.
“This year we see the numbers hitting INR 500 crore in revenue and the net profit more than doubling to INR 35 crore,” said Prasanna Rao.
Rao’s confidence stems from the platform’s expanding e-commerce sales of grains and the revenue generated from its service fees to farmers.
Presently, a significant portion of its revenue is derived from storage and warehouse fees. However, Rao foresees that the revenue generated from grain sales on its platform will become a more substantial revenue stream in the future. In the fiscal year 2023, the commission on sales amounted to INR 40 crore, and he anticipates that it will surpass INR 100 crore in the current fiscal year.
He anticipates that the value of grain sales on its platform will double, increasing from INR 3,000 crore in FY23 to a minimum of INR 6,000 crore in the current fiscal year. Rao also noted that within the initial five months of the current fiscal year, the sales value has already exceeded INR 2,000 crore.
Last year, the platform’s primary business, focused on storage, achieved an aggregate value of INR 20,000 crore. Rao foresees that this fiscal year, it will reach an estimated range of INR 27,000-28,000 crore.
Arya caters to over 660 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), encompassing more than 7 lakh individual farmers who are members hailing from 21 states and 450 districts. Rao mentioned that the number of farmers has already increased by 80,000 during the current fiscal year.
The platform’s primary focus lies in handling wheat, paddy, soybeans, mustard, and pulses. Additionally, it is involved in trading cotton, spices such as pepper, clove, cardamom, and various types of chillies.
Rao asserts that farmers utilizing the platform can realize benefits ranging from 10% to 30%. Furthermore, the platform extends loans to FPOs as working capital with an interest rate of 12.5%. In FY22, its loan book reached nearly INR 1,000 crore, a significant increase from the INR 300 crore in the previous fiscal year. He anticipates that the loan book will experience a robust growth of at least 80%, reaching INR 1,800 crore by March of the next year.
He mentioned that there are co-lending agreements with 27 banks, resulting in loans totaling INR 9,000 crore disbursed to these FPOs. Arya also levies fees on banks for co-lending, and the revenue generated from these fees amounted to INR 120 crore in the fiscal year 2023.
Arya, a competitor of NCML, NHBC Staragri, Farmart, Bijak, Ergos, Dehaat, Ninjacart, Waycool, Samunnati, and others, oversees a warehouse network covering more than 100 million square feet.