One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, on Wednesday, said that its loan disbursements grew 206 per cent in March 2023 at ₹4,468 crore. The number of loans disbursed for the month under review grew 63 per cent to 4.1 million.
“Our loan distribution business (in partnership with our lender partners) continues to gain scale with disbursements of ₹4,468 crore ($544 million, year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 206 per cent) and 4.1 million loans (y-o-y growth of 63 per cent) disbursed in March 2023 through the Paytm platform,” the company said in its operating performance update filed with the stock exchanges on Wednesday.
For the quarter that ended March 31, 2023, loan disbursements were up 253 per cent y-o-y at ₹12,554 crore ($1,528 million). The total number of loans disbursed surged 82 per cent y-o-y to 11.9 million in the quarter.
“Our payments consumer and merchant base offers a huge addressable market, thereby providing a long runway for growth. We continue to work with our partners to remain focused on the quality of the book,” Paytm said.
Focus on payment volumes
The total merchant Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) processed through the Paytm platform for the quarter ended March 2023 stood at ₹3.62-lakh crore ($44 billion), up 40 per cent on a y-o-y basis.
“Our focus over the past few quarters continues to be on payment volumes that generate profitability for us, either through net payments margin or from direct upsell potential,” Paytm said.
Paytm sees continued expansion of its consumer base with average monthly transacting users (MTU) for the quarter ended March 2023 at 90 million, up 27 per cent y-o-y. The number of merchants paying a subscription for payment devices has reached 6.8 million, an increase of 1 million in the quarter that ended March 2023.
It may be recalled that Paytm reported operating profitability in the December 2022 quarter, three quarters ahead of its earlier guidance of achieving this target by the September 2023 quarter. The fintech major’s EBITDA before ESOP cost stood at ₹31 crore with EBITDA ESOP margin at 2 per cent of revenues as compared to 27 per cent a year ago.
Paytm’s revenue from operations increased 42 per cent y-o-y to ₹2,062 crore in Q3 FY23, driven by growth in its core payments business and sustained growth momentum in the credit business and commerce business.