X’s Indian subsidiary sees 90% plunge in FY24 revenue, profit as ad business falters

Twitter Communications India Private Limited, the Indian subsidiary of Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter), has seen a significant drop of about 90% in both its topline and bottomline for the financial year ended March 2024, largely attributed to a decline in its ads business.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 3.2 crore for the fiscal year 2023-24—a steep fall from Rs 30.5 crore earned in the previous year, as stated in its financial filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

The social media platform recorded operating revenue of Rs 21.2 crore in FY24, a sharp decline from Rs 207.7 crore in the previous fiscal year.

The company primarily provides support services to Twitter group companies, including marketing, business planning, and assistance with research and development projects to grow the internet user community and attract advertisers in India.

The company’s reportable business segments are marketing support, research and development, and user support services. 

In the latest fiscal year, revenue from marketing support fell to Rs 4.1 crore, down from Rs 87.4 crore generated in the previous year. Research and development revenue decreased to Rs 16.3 crore, compared with Rs 113.2 crore the year before. Revenue from user support services also declined to Rs 0.7 crore, from Rs 7 crore previously.

Meanwhile, its expenses decreased by 88.9% to Rs 18.8 crore in FY24, compared with Rs 168.3 crore in FY23, according to its recent standalone financial statements.

The Indian entity offers services to Twitter International Unlimited Company in Ireland and Twitter Asia Pacific Pte Ltd in Singapore. Twitter India’s net worth increased to Rs 61 crore in FY24, up from Rs 57.9 crore in the previous fiscal year.

Last year, X laid off several employees from its ad sales department, which had around 800 employees at one point. The company also closed two offices in Mumbai and Delhi as part of Musk’s restructuring of the social media platform.

In March of this year, Twitter’s former leadership team, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal and Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, filed a lawsuit against Musk, claiming that he dismissed them without cause and owes them severance payments totalling $128 million.

The billionaire entrepreneur closed his $44 billion acquisition of the social media firm in October 2022 following a long-drawn-out deal that took several months to close.