Will Lenskart’s Rs 7,278 crore IPO deliver long-term vision for investors?

Synopsis

Lenskart Solutions is set to raise over ₹7,000 crore through its upcoming IPO. The eyewear retailer aims to fund expansion and acquisitions. Despite a growing revenue and a recent profit, the company's valuation appears high. Lenskart operates in a competitive market with a significant unorganised segment. Investors may observe financial clarity post-listing.

ET Intelligence Group: Lenskart Solutions, an eyewear retailer, plans to raise ₹2,150 crore through a fresh issue to invest in new stores, cloud infrastructure and brand marketing as well as to fund acquisitions. It will also raise ₹5,128 crore through an offer for sale. The promoter group's stake will fall to 17.7% after the IPO from 19.9%. The company commands a market share of 4-6% in the country's eyewear market. However, it operates in a highly competitive and fragmented market with the unorganised segment accounting for 77% of it, according to the research firm Redseer-which is both an opportunity and a challenge.

The IPO is steeply valued at the current price-earnings (P/E) multiple of 235. After reporting losses for two years, Lenskart posted profit in FY25, though on the back of non-operating components. Excluding other income, the valuation looks even steeper. Rapid store expansion has resulted in higher lease liabilities. The company spent over 83.6% of operating profit in interest payment in FY25. Given these factors, investors may wait to see clarity in financials after the listing.

Agencies

Even as eyewear retailer has strong revenues, high lease costs, interest outgo weigh; a vast unorganised market offers both opportunity and challenge

Business
Incorporated in 2008, Lenskart Solutions is engaged in design, manufacture, branding and retailing of prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses and accessories. As per Redseer report, Lenskart was the largest seller of prescription eyeglasses in India by sales volume in FY25. The company has manufacturing facilities in Bhiwadi and Gurugram in India, supplemented by regional facilities in Singapore and the UAE. Lenskart added net 847 stores since FY23 to reach 2,806 stores as of June 2025 - 2,137 in India and 669 overseas.

Financials
The company's revenue grew 32.5% annually to ₹6,652.5 crore while EBITDA surged by 93.4% to ₹971.1 crore and EBITDA margin expanded to 14.6% from 6.9% between FY23 and FY25. The company reported a net profit of ₹297.3 crore in FY25 as against a net loss of ₹63.8 crore in FY23. However, it was mainly driven by one-time gains. Lease liabilities increased to ₹1,701.2 crore from ₹1,087.6 crore between FY23 and FY25, which increased finance cost to ₹145.9 crore from ₹83.3 crore. Interest outgo relative to EBIT was 83.6% in FY25. In addition, Lenskart's EBIT margin at 2.6% in FY25 was below 10.6% reported by the eyecare division of Titan Company.

Valuation
The company's P/E ratio appears to be high since the business is yet to reflect the benefits of store expansion. The price-to-sales multiple also seems to be high at 10.5. One of its promoters increased stake in the company in July 2025 at ₹52 per share, a deep discount to the initial offer price.

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