Fintech major One 97 Communications, which owns brand Paytm, on Friday reported a consolidated net loss of ₹ 839 crore, which was 135 percent higher than net loss of ₹357 crore recorded in same quarter last fiscal.
The latest loss was also wider than the consolidated net loss of ₹551 crore recorded in January-March 2024 quarter, results data filed with exchanges showed.
Consolidated Revenue from Operations for the quarter under review declined 36 percent to ₹1,502 crore (₹2,342 crore). The company had recorded a Revenue from Operations of ₹2267 crore in the January-March 2024 quarter.
Commenting on the Q1 financial performance, a Paytm Spokesperson said that both Revenue and Profitability are in line with earlier guidance. Going forward, they will improve from here, the Paytm spokesperson added.
Paytm said on Friday revenue and profitability will improve, with growth in merchant payment operating metrics including GMV, accelerated merchant reactivation and growing merchant base, along with continued focus on cost optimisation.
Asked if the full financial impact of RBI’s action on Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) is reflected in the Q1 performance, Paytm spokesperson said “Yes. We had said in Q4 that the full impact on the financials will be seen in Q1. The GMV from disrupted products was ‘Nil’ in Q1. Full impact of disruption is now priced in Q1 and that is also reason why we are confident of improved performance going forward”.
Paytm spokesperson also said that the company is seeing a rebound in its merchant operating metrics and stability in its consumer base, demonstrating the path to recovery.
“This also indicates the continued confidence of our merchant partners and consumers on our platform, and we are grateful for the trust of our stakeholders. With Q1 illustrating the full impact of recent disruptions, we are confident in our trajectory towards sustained growth going forward”, Paytm spokesperson said.
Noting that the company continues to have a strong balance sheet with ₹8,108 crore of cash on books, Paytm spokesperson said that company holds stock acquisition rights in PayPay Corporation (5.4% stake, once exercised).
Paytm said that it will focus on leading the market with merchant payment innovations, including introducing new devices and aggregation of various merchant discount rate (MDR)-bearing payment instruments.
The company will allocate more resources to Insurance distribution and Mutual Fund distribution, which offer large monetisation opportunities.
Shares of Paytm were trading at ₹ 462 apiece on Friday afternoon, up nearly 5 percent from previous day’s close of ₹ 445.30