Paytm, India's leading mobile payments company, reported a 13,2% rise in revenue to $285,7 million in the quarter ending March and cut its losses by 57% to $20,5 million in a A sharp turnaround for the company that is increasingly trying to turn profitable after a shaky year and a half after its public debut.
Paytm's revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2023 was $977,9 million, up from $644,4 million a year ago. During the period, the company cut its losses to $217 million, from $293,3 million.
The company attributed the increase in revenue to growth in the monetization of payments and the expansion of its loan distribution business. “Our contribution margin improved from 30% in fiscal year 2022 to 49% in fiscal year 2023, due to the improvement in the profitability of payments and growth in the high-margin loan distribution business,” the company said in a statement.
Paytm said it disbursed $1.5 billion worth of loans in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 and has served 9.3 million borrowers through its namesake platform.
“During the second half of this year, we achieved operating profitability (EBITDA before ESOP) and we believe we can continue our growth momentum and further improve our profitability. We have made significant investments in sales staff, technology platform enhancement, marketing spend, etc., which will help us carry this momentum.”
Once the symbol of India's startup ecosystem, Paytm suffered a poor public debut in 2021. The Noida-based company, in response, vowed to accelerate its efforts to achieve profitability.
The firm, led by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, is still 67% below its IPO price of 2.150 Indian rupees ($26,3). In addition to improving its revenue and contribution margin, the company is also aggressively deepening its product offerings, including primarily its loan offerings, to attract customers.
Paytm's flagship mobile payments service competes with PhonePe, backed by General Atlantic and Walmart, and Google's Google Pay. PhonePe, with less than $350 million in revenue, is valued at $12 billion. Paytm ended Friday with a market capitalization of $5,35 billion.
“As we move into the new fiscal year of 2024, we are excited about the long-term potential for revenue growth and profitability in the payments and lending businesses. The growth of UPI and other mobile payment methods presents a wealth of untapped opportunity,” Paytm said in a press release following the earnings release.
