Aakash Trims FY26 Loss By 16% To ₹186.5 Cr, Top Line Flat At ₹2,040 Cr

Gurugram-based test-prep major Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) managed to narrow its net loss for the financial year FY26 by 15.5% to ₹186.5 Cr from ₹220.8 Cr loss incurred in the previous fiscal.

The improvement in the bottom line came despite flat top line performance in the fiscal. Operating revenue rose marginally by 0.4% to ₹2,040.5 Cr in FY26 from ₹2,032.1 Cr in the previous year. 

While coaching revenue — the core business — inched up 0.3% YoY to ₹1,956.2 Cr, franchisee revenue grew 4% to ₹84.4 Cr.

The real swing factor came with revenue registered from non-operating income, with other income more than doubled to ₹113.7 Cr.

This was driven largely by a ₹76.1 Cr write-back of provisions or liabilities alongside a ₹19.7 Cr gain from remeasurement of lease liabilities.

Including other income, total income rose 3.3% to ₹2,154.3 Cr in the year under review from ₹2,085.1 Cr in FY25.

Aakash is one of India’s largest test-prep brands for engineering and medical entrance exams and has been operating under the ownership of BYJU’S parent Think & Learn since its 2021 acquisition — a deal that has since been entangled in the broader financial and legal troubles at the BYJU’S group.

As of September, Byju Raveendran proposed relinquishing his claimed beneficial interest in 17.89 Mn shares of Aakash Educational Services to settle Qatar Holding’s arbitration claim of more than $235 Mn against him. The latest proposal further places Aakash at the centre of overlapping disputes over ownership, creditor recoveries, and the future of BYJU’S, which once commanded a valuation of $22 Bn.

Creditors have been separately exploring a broader settlement centred around Aakash as it remains the most valuable surviving asset within the collapsing edtech. Global TLB lenders, represented by GLAS Trust, are said to be in advanced talks to acquire a 30% stake in Aakash Educational Services, valuing the coaching chain at around $2 Bn.

Zooming Into Aakash’s FY26 Expenses

Total expenses were largely flat, up almost 1% to ₹2,397.8 Cr in FY26 from ₹2,378 Cr in the previous year. As a result, loss before exceptional items and tax narrowed nearly 17% YoY to ₹243.5 Cr from ₹292.9 Cr. 

However, a ₹23.3 Cr exceptional charge widened this to a pre-tax loss of ₹266.8 Cr — still 8.9% narrower than FY25’s ₹292.9 Cr. A deferred tax credit gain of ₹80.3 Cr brought the final loss after tax down to ₹186.5 Cr.

Here is a more closer look at where AESL spent the most in the reported year:

• Employee Benefits Expense: Aakash’s single largest expense declined 2.4% to ₹1,299.6 Cr in the fiscal under review from ₹1,331.5 Cr in FY25.
• Depreciation And Amortisation Expense: Spending under this head declined 4.4% to ₹234.8 Cr in FY26 from ₹245.6 Cr a year ago.
• Advertisement And Publicity: The company’s promotional expenses fell 6.9% to ₹145.7 Cr in the year under review from ₹156.5 Cr in FY25.

The post Aakash Trims FY26 Loss By 16% To ₹186.5 Cr, Top Line Flat At ₹2,040 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.