Fitness and wellness technology company Cult.fit FY25 financials delivered a strong top-line performance, reporting INR 1,215.5 crore in operating revenue, up 31.2% year-on-year, even as the company continued to post sizeable losses. Net losses narrowed 10% to INR 480.8 crore, signalling improving cost discipline ahead of a potential INR 2,500 crore IPO.
The Tata Digital- and Zomato-backed firm’s latest financials place Cult.fit among the faster-scaling consumer-tech platforms in India—though profitability remains elusive.
Subscription Engine Drives Growth
The backbone of Cult.fit’s FY25 performance remained its subscription-led fitness business, which contributed 73% of operating revenue.
- Fitness subscriptions—including Cultpass memberships, Cult.fit centres, and platform services—generated INR 889 crore, growing 32.7% YoY.
- The company’s products and merchandise business, spanning sportswear and gym equipment under the Cultsport brand, contributed INR 326.4 crore, up 27% YoY.
Including INR 56.5 crore in other income (largely interest from investments), Cult.fit’s total revenue stood at INR 1,272 crore in FY25.
The revenue mix underscores Cult.fit’s positioning as a hybrid consumer platform—part physical gyms, part digital subscription, and part D2C commerce.
Costs Rise Slower Than Revenue, But Losses Persist
While revenue momentum was robust, Cult.fit’s cost structure continues to weigh on profitability.
- Total expenses rose 12% YoY to INR 1,751.6 crore, significantly lower than revenue growth.
- Employee benefit expenses remained flat at INR 347.4 crore, including INR 99.5 crore in ESOP charges, indicating tighter headcount and compensation control.
- Cost of materials increased 31% to INR 521.5 crore, remaining the largest expense head—reflective of merchandise sales, gym operations, and infrastructure.
- Advertising and promotional spends were steady at INR 202.9 crore, suggesting moderation in aggressive brand spending.
- Depreciation and amortisation rose 12% to INR 237.6 crore, highlighting the capital-intensive nature of gym expansion.
- Legal and professional fees stood at INR 120.9 crore, while finance costs added another INR 109.5 crore.
Despite cost rationalisation, Cult.fit reported an EBITDA loss of INR 189 crore, with EBITDA margin at -15.54% and ROCE at -24.02%.
That said, the expense-to-earning ratio improved to 1.44, a key metric investors will track as the firm inches toward public markets.
Cult.fit IPO Preparations Gather Pace
Cult.fit has formally appointed a heavyweight syndicate of bankers—Axis Capital, Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JM Financial—to manage its proposed IPO.
The company is reportedly targeting:
- IPO size: ~INR 2,500 crore
- Implied valuation: ~USD 2 billion (INR 17,000+ crore)
This marks a notable step-up from its last valuation of USD 1.56 billion in 2021, when Zomato invested USD 100 million for a 6.4% stake.
Business Model Under Investor Lens
Founded in 2016 by Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, Cult.fit has evolved into a multi-vertical wellness platform encompassing:
- Cult.fit gyms (including franchise formats)
- Cultsport (D2C sportswear and equipment)
- Eat.fit, Mind.fit, and Care.fit (ancillary verticals)
- Cultpass, its bundled subscription offering
However, as public markets loom, questions persist around brand loyalty, pricing power, and long-term margin sustainability. Despite strong revenue growth, the business remains structurally loss-making, and profitability timelines are still unclear.
The Bigger Picture
Cult.fit FY25 numbers present a familiar consumer-tech narrative: rapid scale, moderating losses, but no clear profitability inflection yet. While management has demonstrated improved expense discipline, the company is still effectively buying growth, a strategy public market investors have grown increasingly selective about.
With several profitable IPOs setting higher benchmarks in recent years, Cult.fit’s listing—if executed—will test whether India’s capital markets are once again willing to underwrite growth-first stories.
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