For FY25, Lenskart reported revenue of ₹6,652 crore and a profit of ₹297 crore, including a one-time gain. The company currently operates more than 2,100 stores, with 40% of its revenues coming from international markets.
CEO Peyush Bansal defended the high 230 times price-to-earnings ratio, citing the company’s 90% EBITDA CAGR and the long-term growth potential of the eyewear market.When asked about valuations, the Lenskart management said the company’s growth runway remains long and robust.
When questioned about the post-money valuation of nearly ₹70,000 crore, implying a little over 230x price-to-earnings and around 10.5x sales on trailing numbers, here’s what they said verbatim:
“As a company and as an entrepreneur, our job is to create value for the customer. Yeah, right now, increasingly for the shareholder as well. And as far as valuation is concerned, it’s what the market decides.
So even if we look at the valuation, there are investors who are selling shares, there are investors who are coming in, and they have done a lot of work to arrive at these numbers. All I can say is, they’ll be very close to comparables — they won’t be off. Sometimes, when you look at things without the full perspective, they seem different. But yeah, be rest assured, everything will be in line with what it should be. I don’t expect anything abnormal.”
Brokerage firm SBI Securities said wrote in its note that Lenskart’s valuation seems be stretched and hence the listing gain is likely to be muted. However, looking at the robust business model, the company is well placed to encash on the fast-growing domestic organised underpenetrated eyeglasses market.Moreover, as business scales up, there is scope of improvement in profitability over medium to long term.
Listed international peers have robust margin profile and going forward, Street will keenly track the path to profitability for Lenskart too, the brokerage added.
Meanwhile, SBI Mutual Fund has invested ₹100 crore in Lenskart ahead of the company’s public issue. The investment values Lenskart at around $7.7 billion, marking a significant pre-IPO entry by one of the country’s largest domestic fund houses.
The move follows billionaire investor Radhakishan Damani, founder of Avenue Supermarts (DMart), picking up Lenskart shares worth ₹90 crore in a separate pre-IPO deal.
Lenskart IPO details
Lenskart’s anchor round will open on October 30, followed by the public offer from October 31 to November 4. The company aims to raise ₹2,150 crore through a combination of a fresh issue and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 12.76 crore shares by existing investors.
The OFS will include sales by founder and CEO Peyush Bansal, SoftBank’s SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman), Kedaara Capital, ChrysCapital’s PI Opportunities Fund II, KKR’s MacRitchie Investments, and Alpha Wave Ventures.
Proceeds from the fresh issue will be used for store expansion, lease and rental payments, technology and digital infrastructure, brand marketing, and potential acquisitions. The funds will be deployed over the next three years, while proceeds from the OFS will go directly to the selling shareholders.
