Paytm, India’s leading mobile payments company, reported a 13.2% increase in revenue to $285.7 million in the quarter ending March and a 57% decrease in loss to $20.5 million. The company is trying to become profitable after a rocky year and a half after its public debut.
Paytm earned $977.9 million in the fiscal year ended March 2023, up from $644.4 million a year earlier. The business reduced losses to $217 million from $293.3 million.
Revenue rose due to payment monetization and loan distribution expansion. “Our contribution margin improved from 30% in FY 2022 to 49% in FY 2023, due to improved payments profitability and growth in high margin loan distribution business,” the company added. In Q4 FY 2023, Paytm loaned $1.5 billion to 9.3 million borrowers.
We reached operational profitability (EBITDA before ESOP) in the second part of this year and felt we could maintain our growth pace and enhance profitability. We have invested heavily in sales staff, technological platform improvements, marketing spending, etc., to maintain this momentum.”
In 2021, Indian startup poster child Paytm had a disastrous public debut. In response, Noida-based businesses committed to boosting profitability measures.
The Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company is down 67% from its IPO price of 2,150 Indian rupees ($26.3). To entice clients, the corporation is actively broadening its product offerings, especially loans. Paytm’s flagship mobile payments service competes with General Atlantic, Walmart-backed PhonePe, and Google Pay. PhonePe is worth $12 billion despite earning $350 million. Paytm closed Friday at $5.35 billion.
“As we enter the 2024 fiscal year, we are excited by the long-term revenue growth and profitability across payment and lending businesses. Paytm stated in a press release after the results report that UPI and other mobile payment systems offer many unexplored prospects.