PayU Turns Profitable In FY22; Revenue Jumps 51%

SUMMARY

The Gurugram-based fintech giant reported a profit of INR 126 Cr on the back of a revenue of INR 2,130 Cr

Its employee benefits expense increased by 16.7% YoY, standing at INR 288.98 Cr

PayU’s EBITDA rose 13% YoY but remained negative at a loss of INR 76.2 Cr

Prosus-owned PayU Payments has turned profitable in FY22, the company’s financial statements revealed. The Gurugram-based fintech giant reported a profit of INR 126 Cr on the back of a revenue of INR 2,130 Cr.

According to the company’s financial statements, PayU Payments had operating revenue of INR 2,099.43 Cr – a 50.6% YoY rise.

While PayU Payments’ revenue rose 50.48% year-on-year (YoY), its expenses also rose sharply in the financial year ending March 2022. At about INR 2,230 Cr, the total expenses rose by 46% YoY from ~INR 1,530 Cr.

A large portion of this was attributed to other expenses while its employee benefits expense increased by 16.7% YoY, standing at INR 288.98 Cr, up from INR 247.55 Cr in FY21.

Its earnings after interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 13% YoY but remained negative at a loss of INR 76.2 Cr. PayU reported a 29% increase in its net worth to INR 1,153 Cr (up from INR 894.39 Cr in FY21).

Prosus, a global consumer internet group, operates the fintech company PayU. The Indian subsidiary of PayU, dubbed PayU Payments was launched in 2011 with Nitin Gupta and Shailaz Nag as its cofounders.

The startup is currently helmed by former Reliance Jio’s founding leader and payments head Anirban Mukherjee and operated in India’s $1.3 Tn worth of fintech opportunity.

PayU India, a payments solution provider to more than 5 Lakh businesses, offers services such as online and offline PoS across 150+ payment modes.

The payment gateway solution competes with the likes of Razorpay, Cashfree, Paytm and more.

The startup also launched PayU Token Hub in 2021 in the wake of tokenisation norms mandated by the Indian government. It claims to have tokenised 50 Mn cards to date.

A large portion of PayU’s growth can be attributed to acquisitions marked by the Nasper-backed company including the likes of Vayana Network, Citrus Pay and more.

In fact, prior to announcing its financial statements, the company was on track to acquire online payment gateway Billdesk in one of the largest fintech deals worth $4.7 Bn.

After several months of to and fro (and CCI’s approval), the deal was abruptly pulled back by PayU due to ‘unfulfilled M&A conditions’.