Ola is a ride-hailing service provider and one of the biggest players in India’s passenger mobility industry. The company has been around for over a decade and has served millions of Indians. Each year the company serves over a billion rides through its 1.5 million driver partners.
Over the last decade, the ride-hailing giant has expanded its offerings to include bike-sharing, electric vehicles, and food delivery services. Media reports published earlier this year also suggest that the company may be diversifying further into software and cloud services.
Now, with the company’s expansion plans and its status as one of the country’s first and most popular unicorns, it looks set to make a debut on the Indian stock market soon. So, in this article, we take a deep dive into Ola the company and explain what an investor could do to dip their toes into Ola’s growth story.
Ola Company History
Ola was founded in Mumbai, India in 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. The company initially began as a taxi aggregator service and quickly gained popularity due to its affordable pricing and user-friendly app. Since then, Ola has expanded to over 250 cities in India and has diversified its services to include bike-sharing, electric vehicles, and food delivery. The company has also expanded its operations to other countries like Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
How to Buy Ola Share:
Ola is currently not listed on the Indian stock exchanges. So it will not be possible for you to buy Ola shares or check the Ola share price. However, that may change soon, the company’s CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has said that the company is looking to go for an IPO next year. The company was already planning to launch the Ola IPO but postponed it as the markets grew unstable due to several macroeconomic factors. That is why Aggarwal said that the company deferred the plans for at least a year or until the market settles down. So, you might just be able to invest in Ola shares and check the Ola share price pretty soon and even invest in the Ola IPO.
See Also: When Will Tata Power Share Price Go Up?
Ola Fundamentals
Since Ola is a privately held company, it does not disclose its financial statements to the public regularly. However, an idea about the company’s financials can be taken from the financial report for FY21 (April 2020 – March 2021). In FY21, the company’s revenue took a hit and slumped around 65% YoY to ₹689.61 crore. Covid induced lockdowns had heavily affected the company’s business. However, the company in FY21 reported its first-ever operating profit of ₹89.82 crore. Even earlier this year, talking about delaying the Ola IPO, Aggarwal had said in an interview that the company has a healthy cash flow and it does not really need to go for an IPO to raise money.
Factors Affecting Ola Performance:
Several factors can impact Ola’s future performance, including:
- Competition: The ride-hailing industry is highly competitive, and Ola faces stiff competition from other players like Uber, and Rapido. Any changes in the competitive landscape could impact Ola’s market share and financial performance.
- Government regulations: The Indian government has introduced several regulations aimed at the ride-hailing industry, such as price caps and restrictions on surge pricing. Any changes in these regulations could impact Ola.
- External Factors – The Covid pandemic is a great example of how external factors beyond a company’s control can affect its performance.
Alternate Investment Idea: Competitors
The company’s biggest rivals in the ride-hailing industry are Uber and Rapido. Several new companies have also popped up in the space namely BluSmart, and InDrive. However, none of these companies are listed in India.
But, the company also has a massive EV business. The company, in recent years, has made a strong push in the EV space, especially with its flagship Ola Scooters. In this space, however, the company has a lot of competition. Legacy companies such as Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, and TVS Motor have also turned their focus to the EV space and are looking to make a place in this new market. All of these companies are listed on the stock markets and have a track of good performance for the past several years.
However, Ola sold the most numbers of EV in April this year. The company in a press release stated that they sold over 30,000 EVs in April, cornering over 40% of the EV market in the country.
However, one should keep in mind that even if Ola goes for an IPO, its electric division would mostly be a part of the same issue and not a separate listing. So, even after the Ola IPO, you might not be able to invest in specific Ola Electric shares or check the Ola Electric share price. As mentioned in earlier sections Ola has diversified business interests and the Ola share price would reflect that if and when the company decides to go public.
Read Next: Is Olectra Greentech Share A Good Buy At Current Price?
Editor's Note: Artificial intelligence was used as a secondary aid in the writing of this story.
© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.