A dozen Singapore-registered tech startups managed to record a positive bottom line despite a challenging market environment last year, according to the latest financial filings reviewed by DealStreetAsia – DATA VANTAGE.
One of them is e-commerce enabler AnyMind Group Pte Ltd. The company managed to double its revenue for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021, to $44.3 million, a filing with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority showed. Its net profit before interest, meanwhile, quadrupled during the period.
Avanseus, a company that provides AI solutions for enterprise applications, managed to turn a profit before interest last year as its total revenue grew 27% year-on-year to $4 million.
Indonesian media company IDN Media, which is registered in Singapore, was able to quadruple its net profit before interest last year as its total revenue reached $18.2 million, up 29% from the previous year.
The media company also allotted new shares worth $8 million to a new investor, Kreasi Media Indonesia, last week, while appointing Indonesian tech mogul Pandu Sjahrir as a board member. The new allotment was part of the $23 million Series D round that we reported last month.
You can find more details on profitable startups in Southeast Asia in our database.
Focus on profitability
A stronger emphasis by investors on profitability and business sustainability amid a challenging macro environment has affected funding deal flows in Southeast Asia, according to our latest quarterly review.
The total volume of equity investments in Southeast Asian startups fell by nearly 20% to 250 in the second quarter of this year relative to the previous quarter. The drop was sharper than the 15% contraction in Q2 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first affected startup funding in the region.
Equity versus debt funding for venture-backed startups in SE Asia
The second-quarter performance brought the total tally for the first half of the year to 580 deals worth $9 billion. This compares to 437 deals worth $9.3 billion in the same period last year. However, we need to bear in mind carry-over deals from last year that were finalised and announced in the first quarter.
In hedging their bets, some investors have introduced additional terms for funding. These include, for instance, a demand for startups to achieve specific financial targets or allot additional shares to investors otherwise.
Other updates from DATA VANTAGE
Singapore-based cashback platform ShopBack allotted new shares last week to Asia Partners and existing investor January Capital worth $70 million and $9 million, respectively. The allotment is understood to be part of a $150 million Series F round that the firm plans to conclude in the coming months.
Singapore-based BNPL firm Atome has received a fresh capital injection worth $30 million from its parent company, Neuroncredit, which is also known as Atome Financial. The latter is also the parent company of Indonesia’s peer-to-peer lending firm Kredit Pintar and Atome Indonesia.
Cybersecurity firm watchTowr received $7.8 million last week from investors, including Prosus Ventures, Vulcan Capital and Wavemaker Partners, as part of an $8 million pre-Series A round announced this month. The firm’s share price is up three times from its seed financing last year.
HeveaConnect, a Singapore-based agri-commodities platform, allotted new shares worth $5.4 million last week. The allotment was part of a $7.1 million Series A funding round anchored by Provident Capital Partners, DeClout Ventures and its management team.
Japan’s YCP Holdings has participated in the latest funding round of Singapore-based greentech startup RIMM Sustainability with a $500,000 contribution. The startup had announced raising $3 million in its latest round from investors, including BEENEXT and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, in February.