Recode said 70% of online revenue came from its website. Hours later, it said 50%.
The same call also flipped on quick commerce: launched in two months, then not yet.
What's new
- FY26 revenue ₹80 cr, up 67% year-on-year; PAT grew 260% to ₹11.22 cr.
- Management guided for 50% revenue growth in FY27, targeting the full-year run-rate in H1 itself.
- EBITDA margin expanded 700 bps to 20%; marketing will stay fixed at 20% of revenue.
Themes from the call
Channel mix
Management wants to shift from 60:40 online-offline to 50:50 by FY27 end, but the exact online revenue breakdown from its own website is unclear.
Margin discipline
EBITDA margin reached 20%, but management will reinvest any upside EBITDA into brand acquisition, capping margin at this level.
Distribution strategy
The company is moving from high-street FOFO stores to dark stores and is building a new modern trade vertical.
Guidance watch
- Dheeraj Bansal guided for at least 50% revenue growth in FY27, expecting to hit that run-rate in H1.
- Recode plans a proprietary quick-commerce delivery service in one to two months, targeting 4-hour to next-day delivery.
Risk flags
- Management contradicted its own figures on the highest-margin channel within the same call.
- The quick-commerce narrative was announced then abandoned, raising questions about channel strategy.
- Margin is capped at 20% as all incremental EBITDA is directed to marketing spend.
Key quotes
-
"...more than 70% of online revenue from our own website."
— Dheeraj Bansal, Founder, prepared remarks -
"50% of our total online sales are coming through our own website."
— Dheeraj Bansal, Founder, Q&A response -
"We are not doing quick commerce yet. Quick commerce is currently a loss-making venture."
— Recode management, Q&A response
The brief
Recode Studios' Q4 call was a study in contradictions. Founder Dheeraj Bansal first told investors that over 70% of the company's online revenue comes from its own website, the highest-margin channel. During the same Q&A session, he put that figure at 50%. The numbers matter because they are the foundation of the channel strategy the company is using to justify its 50% FY27 growth guidance. The conflict was not limited to channel mix. In the prepared remarks, management announced a plan to enter quick-commerce platforms within one to two months. Minutes later, it said the company was "not doing quick commerce yet" because it was loss-making. The operational updates between these contradictions were solid. FY26 revenue grew 67% to ₹80 cr, PAT jumped 260%, and EBITDA margin expanded 700 bps to 20%. Management is guiding for another 50% revenue year in FY27, banking on expansion into underserved South and Central India and a new push into modern trade. But the credibility gap is now part of the story. For a company asking the market to underwrite a 50% CAGR, getting its own numbers straight is a basic test it just failed.
A young company with strong growth must deliver consistent numbers to be taken seriously.