Altigreen eyes profitability following restructuring
BENGALURU : Reliance-backed electric vehicle maker Altigreen, unable to raise funds over the past year amid a surgical restructuring, is now chasing a metric that’s become the investors’ darling: profitability. That, however, might be a long and bumpy road. As part of a restructuring in December after the company failed to raise funds last year, Altigreen laid off about 200 employees and cut salaries by 30-40% to pare expenses, two people familiar with its operations told Mint, requesting anonymity.
But sales remain a challenge for the maker of electric three-wheelers, they said. Besides, in the 2022-23 financial year, the latest for which data is available, Altigreen’s losses widened significantly, to ₹78 crore from ₹22 crore in the year before, according to data sourced from Tofler. Amitabh Saran, co-founder and chief executive, however, insists that the company’s cost-cutting measures have started bearing fruit.
“Investors in 2024 have been evaluating business plans on the basis of a clear path to profitability of companies," he said. “Altigreen’s bet, taken in September, to focus on profitability (rather than market share), is reaping dividends." Altigreen has raised a total funding of $39 million, or about ₹300 crore, so far from investors including Reliance New Energy, Sixth Sense Ventures, Xponentia Capital Partners, Momentum Venture Capital, and Accurant International. Altigreen has been experiencing significant challenges in selling its products due to lack of demand, said the people familiar with the company’s operations.
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