Paytm’s Net Loss Narrows 78% To INR 167.5 Cr In Q4, Revenue Up 51% YoY

Fintech major Paytm’s net loss declined 78% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 167.5 Cr in the quarter ended March 2023 on the back of a strong growth across business verticals. Sequentially, net loss declined 57% from INR 392.1 Cr in the preceding December quarter.

The Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led startup’s operating revenue jumped 51% to INR 2,334.5 Cr in Q4 FY23 from INR 1,540.9 Cr in the March quarter of FY22. On a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, operating revenue grew 13% from INR 2,062 Cr. 

Revenue from payments services rose 28% to INR 1,334 Cr during the quarter under review, including UPI incentive of INR 49 Cr. On similar lines, financial services and other related businesses contributed INR 475 Cr to the total revenue in Q4 FY23 as against INR 446 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

Paytm attributed the growth in financial services revenue to the 253% YoY rise in value of loans distributed during the quarter to INR 12,554 Cr. The number of loans distributed through the platform zoomed 82% YoY to 1.2 Cr in Q4.

“As of March 2023, 95 lakh borrowers have taken a loan through our platform. With low penetration rates currently for each of our loan distribution products, we see a long runway for growth in this business,” the company said. 

The quarter also saw the commerce and cloud services vertical contribute INR 392 Cr to the company’s revenue.

With the rise in revenue, Paytm’s expenses also rose 10% to INR 2,630.5 Cr in Q4 FY23 from INR 2,372 Cr in the corresponding quarter of last year. Sequentially, expenses grew nearly 5% from INR 2,512.3 Cr. 

EBITDA before ESOP costs stood at INR 101 Cr during the quarter under review, including UPI incentive received from the government. In the preceding December quarter, Paytm reported its first EBITDA positive quarter, excluding ESOP costs, for the first time. 

ESOP expenses stood at INR 363 Cr in Q4, almost unchanged from INR 362 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

“During (the) second half of this year, we achieved operational profitability (EBITDA before ESOP) and we believe we can continue our growth momentum and improve our profitability further,” the fintech player said. 

For the full financial year 2022-23 (FY23), Paytm’s net loss fell 25% to INR 1,776.5 Cr from INR 2,396.4 Cr in FY22. Operating revenue surged 61% to INR 7,990.3 Cr in FY23. 

The fintech startup also saw its EBITDA loss before ESOP improve to INR 176 Cr in FY23 from INR 1,518 Cr in the year-ago period. However, ESOP expenses for the fiscal year under review soared 80% to INR 1,456 Cr in FY23 from INR 809 Cr in FY22. 

Paytm said its cash balance stood at INR 8,275 Cr at the end of FY23 as against INR 9,271 Cr a year ago.

Shares of Paytm ended 2.75% higher at INR 689.45 on the BSE on Friday (May 5). 

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