Sri Lanka’s PickMe is planning an LKR 1.6 billion IPO

PickMe appears to be prepping for a public listing on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). The company aims for an LKR 1.6 billion IPO through a 13.04% stake, which comes to 43,474,179 ordinary voting shares at LKR 36 per share. The issue is set to open on 13 September.

Talks of the ride-hailing company’s public listing have been ongoing for years, dating back to as far as 2017. By April 2021, PickMe announced that it was preparing for an IPO, though Founder and CEO Zulfer Jiffry stated the company was still in the planning stage. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis that followed a year later meant that plans were pushed further down the timeline.

In July 2024, PickMe published its earnings report for the 2024 financial year with net profit hitting LKR 679.45 million from last year’s LKR 130.46 million. With an LKR 2.82 billion asset base and LKR 1 billion cash reserves in excess, the company forecasts LKR 1.31 billion net profits on an LKR 10.72 billion revenue.

Since its inception in 2015 with three-wheelers and cabs, PickMe has expanded its offering to food, parcel delivery, and renting. During the pandemic, the company even opted for bicycles/e-bikes for its PickMe Food operation. In its FY24 earnings report, PickMe claims the two-wheeler category accounts for the fastest-growing segment for the company. Two-wheeler trips during the year contributed to 5%, compared to 0.7% in FY23.

Checking all boxes

Even with the financial success, PickMe isn’t without its challenges. For instance, drivers continue to show resistance towards card-based hires. While the FY24 earnings report specifies that movements on the platform have increased 164% to 58 million, it’s an issue that plagues both the company and the customers.

More notably, last year there were alarms raised regarding a potential data breach, though the company refuted claims of such an incident. In a blog post that shortly followed the incident, PickMe denied the allegations that were originally traced to the infamous BreachForums.

Now, with a public listing on the cards it will be interesting to see how the ride-hailing app navigates the space in the months years to come.

Growing ambitions

Of course, PickMe isn’t the only Sri Lankan tech company to get publicly listed on the CSE. Back in December 2021, hSenid became the first listed tech firm on the CSE via an LKR 692 million IPO offering. Not long after, Kapruka followed with its IPO crossing LKR 505.5 million. PickMe’s upcoming LKR 1.6bn IPO will be the third on the list, it would be the highest-valued listed tech firm so far.

In addition to the CSE listings, WSO2 recently concluded its acquisition deal with Swedish investment giant EQT. By 2022, the company closed a $93 million Series E funding round and was acquired by EQT with a valuation reportedly crossing $600 million.

Either way, it’s been an interesting few years for Sri Lankan tech. If the pending PickMe IPO is any indication it’s that the sector’s ambitions only seem to be growing.

Update 04/09/2024: Article updated to include IPO issue date