Snap’s growth engine slows down globally, India bucks the trend

Snap Camera India Ltd, the Indian arm of Snapchat’s parent company, has doubled its revenue in India to Rs. 66 crore in FY22 from Rs. 33 cr in FY21, according to data sourced by Tofler. 

The company, which entered the Indian market in 2019 and currently enjoys an estimated 150 million users in the country, recorded a 114% jump in net profit for FY22 to Rs 6.2 crore. 

In contrast, Snap’s growth has slowed down globally. It recently posted its quarterly revenue of $1.3 billion, almost flat from the year prior. For the full year, its revenue grew 12%, a slower rate than predicted. 

Global economic constraints, weaker advertiser demands, increased competition in the social media market, disruptions to its ad business from Apple’s app privacy changes,  high interest rates and inflation are being cited as the prime reasons behind the slow down in growth. 

The situation appears to be even worse in the current quarter. Snap said it has already seen a 7% revenue decline so far in the first quarter compared to the year prior. It estimates revenue for the first three months of the year will be down between 2% and 10% compared to the previous year. 

Snap also posted a net loss of more than $288 million in the quarter, compared to the $22.5 million in net income it earned in the same period a year ago. The report marked the fourth straight quarter of net losses for Snap.