Paytm Parent One97 Cuts Losses By 40% In FY2017 On Account Of Restructuring

One97 Communication, the parent company of Paytm has managed to reduce its losses by over 40% after the restructuring exercise wherein it separated its online retail from its payments business in 2016. As per ROC filings, the exercise may have helped it reduce losses to $141.47 Mn (INR 900 Cr) in financial year 2016-17 from $243.3 Mn( INR 1,548 Cr) in FY16.

One97 had separated its ecommerce platform into Paytm Ecommerce known as Paytm Mall, while it became a 49% shareholder in the payments bank business because of regulatory reasons in August 2016. At that time, Paytm’s founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma had also announced plans to invest $120 Mn-$149 Mn in developing the new entity.

Later in February 2017, Paytm launched Paytm Mall as a new version of its three-year-old ecommerce arm. It offered a combination of the mall and bazaar concepts to Indian consumers. Just a month later, Alibaba lead a massive $200 Mn round in the ecommerce unit.

As per filings, Paytm E-commerce had paid $94.46 Mn (INR 620 Cr) to One97 Communications for the transfer of assets during restructuring, which is likely to have brought down the losses for it. The company is however yet to file a detailed financial statement.

Meanwhile, One97 Communications’ filings for its valuation before being funded by SoftBank this year showed that it is projected to make revenues of $275.4 Mn ( INR 1,752 Cr) in FY18 although its losses is likely to be $217.4 Mn (INR1,383 Cr), as per the valuation was done in May last year.

While companies restructure for various reasons such as to have different balance sheets or to hive off businesses or to reduce debt, in case of Paytm parent One97 too, the restructuring exercise seems to have had a positive effect on its balance sheet. In November last year, as per filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the company’s net worth for the year stood at $368 Mn.

[The development was reported by ET]