Flipkart's wholesale division posts threefold jump in revenue

The wholesale arm of Flipkart India has posted threefold hike in revenue in fiscal 2015. Its revenue rose to Rs 9,351.7 Crores in the year ended March, up from Rs 2,846 Crores in the previous year. The figure is nearly 30% higher than the annual revenues of wholesale units of Wal-Mart Stores and Metro AG in India. Flipkart didn't disclose the profit or loss figures. It made a loss of Rs 400 Crores in fiscal 2014.

Experts estimate that Flipkart's retail sales could be at least 15% higher than its wholesale revenue after including margins. "Growth has come from heavy investment by way of equity dilution," said Harminder Sahni, founder of retail consultancy firm Wazir Advisors. "The challenge is to sustain it profitably as discounts by brands can't go on forever."

Online retailers regularly disclose the gross merchandise value (GMV) of goods sold through their sites. However, the figure that doesn't necessarily reflect a true picture of their financial performance. That's because goods are sold at heavy discounts to gain market share.

Flipkart has said in the past that it had achieved $4 billion of GMV.

Image credit: Indiatimes