Vivo India revenue grows over 45 percent to ₹25,060 cr in FY20

The company, which competes with players like Xiaomi and Samsung in the Indian market, saw its losses widen to ₹348.94 crore in FY20 from ₹18.94 crore in FY19.

Vivo launched in six European markets in 2020 and plans to spread to more than 12 by 2021.  (Vivo)

Chinese smartphone company Vivo saw its revenue in India growing over 45 per cent to about ₹25,060 crore in FY20 even as its losses widened significantly over the previous fiscal, according to regulatory filings. 

Vivo Mobile India's revenue from operations were at ₹17,201.7 crore for the year ended March 31, 2019, according to Registrar of Companies filing - shared by market intelligence firm Tofler. 

The company, which competes with players like Xiaomi and Samsung in the Indian market, saw its losses widen to ₹348.94 crore in FY20 from ₹18.94 crore in FY19. Vivo's total expenses rose to ₹25,618.79 crore in FY20 from ₹17,397.71 crore in the preceding fiscal, the filing said. 

"During the period under review, the company has recorded an increase in sales as compared to the sales of the financial year 2018-19. Overall sales have been increased by 45.68 per cent against the previous year. The company incurred the loss of ₹34,894.14 lakhs in the current financial year (FY20) as compared to the loss of ₹1,894.45 lakhs of the previous financial year," it added. 

Vivo said it will continue its focus on reducing costs and improving efficiencies, tapping new business opportunities, enhancing value addition to its customer base and maximising capacity utilisation with least cost to achieve higher revenue and improve profitability.

"The company has also invested in new technologies and assets for product diversification and to make available adequate manufacturing capacities for the growth and to cater to customer requirements in the forthcoming years," the filing stated. 

When contacted, Vivo said the company has witnessed steady growth in the country through its sustained customer-centric strategy. "With around 70,000 retail outlets across the country and an annual production capacity of 33 million units, Vivo is one of the strongest players in the Indian offline market. 2020 was a difficult year for all of us. Despite the pandemic, Vivo introduced technologically advanced products for its customers and consolidated its robust distribution and sales network," Vivo said in its emailed response. 

Previous coverage: Vivo India unveils new model to connect offline retailers with customers

The company emphasised that its commitment to the Indian market is "absolute" and that it is "here for the long-term". "It's our continuous endeavour to provide innovative smartphones to our customers and build credibility for the brand. As a long-term potent player, we shall continue to invest in the future and create a delightful end-to-end experience for our valued customers and partners," Vivo said. 

India saw smartphone shipment at over 150 million units in the pandemic-hit 2020. The smartphone market grew 19 per cent year-on-year in December 2020 quarter with Xiaomi (including POCO) at numero uno position with 26 per cent market share during the quarter. Samsung ranked second (21 percent), followed by Vivo (16 per cent), Realme (13 per cent) and Oppo (10 percent) in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to Counterpoint data.