India's Ola Electric slashes sales targets ahead of planned IPO -document, sources

MUMBAI, Dec 6 (Reuters) - India's Ola Electric has slashed its sales goals for 2023-2025 by more than half and delayed its target of achieving profits by a year, after reduced government incentives pushed up e-scooter prices, according to a document and two sources with direct knowledge of the company's finances.
The scaling back of Ola's targets comes ahead of its $700 million stock market debut plan, even though the SoftBank-backed company, which likens itself to Tesla in the West, continues to lead the small yet fast growing e-scooter market.
In a surprise move in May, India's government cut cash incentives available for e-scooter buyers without giving an explanation. Ola's CEO Bhavish Aggarwal at the time said the reduced incentive would be a "short-term blip" for sales, and the company said the move would "have no impact on volumes".
A document seen by Reuters with Ola's latest financial projections shows it now expects to record 300,000 e-scooter sales in the ongoing fiscal year to March 2024, two-thirds lower than the earlier goal of 882,000 which Reuters reported in July.
The revenue target for the ongoing fiscal year period is now $591 million, versus the earlier goal of $1.55 billion - a cut of about 60%, according to the internal document.
In a statement, Ola did not acknowledge the document or comment on the cuts to internal forecasts. It said future financial targets were "yet to be verified".
"This is completely confidential information of the company," Ola said.
The targets have been lowered because of the government's lower subsidy, said two sources with direct knowledge of the company's finances, who declined to be named citing confidentiality.
"The new numbers have been toned down so the company is able to meet or exceed them ... that is what investors want to see," said one of the sources.
While Ola is launching new scooters, parts of its nationwide network of over 400 service hubs which maintain and repair its EVs are showing signs of strain after a surge in sales, Reuters reported last month.