Paytm Allots Stock Options, Equity Shares Ahead Of Q4 Results

SUMMARY

The board of the company approved the allotment of 63,108 equity shares and 1,04,400 stock options under ESOP 2019

The company also noted that 6,60,284 stock options were “voluntarily forgone, cancelled and lapsed”

The allotment of equity shares has boosted the company’s paid-up equity share capital to INR 63.79 Cr

Ahead of Paytm’s financial results announcement for the quarter ended March 2025, the company’s board has approved the allotment of 63,108 equity shares and 1,04,400 stock options to the eligible employees under employee stock option plan (ESOP) 2019.

The company also took a note of 6,60,284 “voluntarily forgone, cancelled and lapsed stock options” under ESOP 2019.

For the freshly allotted stock options, Paytm has set an exercise price of INR 9 per option.

“Stock options granted shall be capable of being exercised anytime during the entire period of continuous active employment from the date of vesting of the respective options,” the company said in a statement.

Besides, the allotment of equity shares has boosted the company’s paid-up equity share capital to INR 63.79 Cr from earlier standing at INR 63.78 Cr.

At 2:08 PM, the shares of the company were trading at INR 825.05 apiece, 4.77% down from its previous close at INR 866.40.

The development comes weeks after Paytm’s CEO and founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma voluntarily gave up 2.1 Cr unvested ESOPs, which came under the scanner of markets regulator SEBI. These stock options were given to Sharma under ESOP 2019.

At that time, Paytm said that the move would lead to an increase of INR 492 Cr in its ESOP expenses in Q4 FY25.

The company came under SEBI’s radar over alleged violations related to promoter misclassification during its IPO in 2021. Notably, at the time of the IPO, Sharma was listed just as an employee of the company.

Last year, Paytm received a showcause notice from the markets regulator in relation to grant of the 2.1 Cr ESOPs to Sharma during the year ended March 31, 2022.

As Paytm’s FY25 Q4 results are around the corner, Domestic Institutional investors recently increased their shareholding in the fintech major to 13.11% in the quarter under review from 11.2% in the Q3 FY25.

The company managed to narrow down its consolidated net loss by 6% to INR 208.5 Cr in the Q3 FY25 from INR 221.7 Cr in the same quarter last year. Besides, the company recorded a 36% decline in its revenue from operations to INR 1,827.8 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 2,850.5 Cr in the year-ago period.

Sequentially, the revenue rose 10% from INR 1,659.5 Cr in Q2 FY25.