Fintech firm Paytm posted a narrower net loss of ₹292 crore in the September quarter.
The net loss in the year-ago period was Rs 571.5 crore. Paytm, one of India’s first startups to go public and whose parent company is One 97 Communications Ltd, said revenue rose 32% to Rs 2,519 crore in the July-September quarter, up from Rs 1,914 crore .rupees in the previous year.
On Friday, Paytm’s scrip closed 1.2% higher at Rs 980.05 on BSE. “Stronger with every quarter: In Q2FY24, our revenue grew 32% YoY to ₹2,519 Cr and EBITDA before ESOP almost doubled to ₹153 Cr in the quarter!” Paytm said on the X platform (formerly Twitter). CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said, “Thank you for your continued support.”
Paytm, which also rents devices that verbally confirm online payments to merchants, said revenue in its core payments business rose 28%.
Revenue from financial services, which includes lending, rose 64%. The value of loans distributed has more than doubled to Rs 16,211 crore.
Paytm defines operating profit as core profit before employee share scheme costs and stood at Rs 153 crore for the quarter ended September 30, compared to a loss of Rs 166 crore a year earlier. Core profit in the first quarter was Rs 84 crore.
“Our loss for the quarter narrowed 49% year-on-year from Rs 571 crore to Rs 292 crore. Our EBITDA before ESOP expenses almost doubled to Rs 153 crore as compared to Rs 84 crore in Q1FY24 (excluding UPI incentives).
Every year, we recorded an improvement of Rs 319 crore in EBITDA before ESOP expenses. Our EBITDA margin before ESOP was 6% due to an increase in contribution margin and operating leverage.
We managed to increase EBITDA while investing in growth. As we continue to see opportunities to gain market share and our profitability remains on track, we decide to invest for growth,” Paytm said in a post-Q2 earnings release.
Paytm said its payments revenue grew 28% year-on-year to Rs 1,523 crore.
