BENGALURU, India, Aug. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Zoomcar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZCAR) ("Zoomcar," the "Company," "we," or "our"), the leading marketplace for car sharing in emerging markets, today reported select financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2024. Management Commentary "Our first fiscal quarter results reflect a robust performance in our ongoing efficiency efforts. We achieved record non-GAAP gross profit and contribution profit, while also laying the groundwork for substantial revenue growth in the coming quarters," stated Hiroshi Nishijima, CEO of Zoomcar. "This period also marked a significant milestone with the third consecutive quarter of contribution profit. As we look ahead to the end of Fiscal year 2025, we anticipate a meaningful return to growth, supported by enhanced profitability due to our streamlined operational infrastructure." Zoomcar continues to make significant progress across the company's strategic priorities: Number of bookings: Total number of bookings increased by 9% from 103,643 bookings during the three months ended June 30, 2023, to 112,944 for the three months ended June 30, 2024. This is an important milestone as we achieved this marginal growth with lower expenditure on performance marketing and host incentivisation, a reflection of strong demand and brand strength. Contribution Margin: Our contribution margin improved significantly from a contribution loss of 45% or $1.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023, to a contribution profit of 20% or $0.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. This is the third consecutive quarter where we have posted a contribution profit. Cost Optimisation Efforts: We successfully reduced our cost of revenue by 58%, from $3.6 million during the three months ended June 30, 2023, to $1.5 million during the three months ended June 30, 2024. This significant reduction was a result of broad-based cost optimization initiatives driven by technology and product. An example is a tighter guest verification process which uses multiple inputs from Aadhar, driving license and selfie authentication. This has led to a healthy reduction in late returns and accidents. Reduction in adjusted EBITDA: Our adjusted EBITDA demonstrated significant improvement, narrowing from a loss of $6.8 million during the three months ending June 30, 2023, to a loss of $3.3 million during the three months ending June 30, 2024. This reduction underscores the effectiveness of our cost management strategies and our unwavering commitment to operational efficiency. Guest trip rating has reached an all-time high: During the three months ending June 30, 2023, the platform's average guest trip rating was 4.16. By the end of Q1 2024, our product-focused approach to enhancing the customer experience continued to yield dividends. Our commitment to improving in-trip communication between guests and hosts resulted in a significant step function improvement in the overall in-trip experience for both customer groups. The average guest trip rating now stands at an impressive 4.71, the highest to date. Additionally, the number of active vehicles with a platform rating exceeding 4.5 reached 5,648 in the quarter. As we look ahead, we remain dedicated to enhancing the quality of the guest and host experience, expecting further improvements in guest trip ratings and the number of active vehicles with ratings exceeding 4.5. Together as a team, we are working towards making the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, a year of sustainable growth and profitability. Under the new leadership team, we are committed ...