Paytm Q1 net loss widens to Rs 644 cr; revenue up 89% to Rs 1,680 cr

Its contribution profit, which excludes taxes and marketing expenses but includes promotional incentives, grew over three-fold to Rs 726 cr in June 2022 quarter from Rs 245 cr in year ago period

Digital financial services firm One97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand, on Friday said its consolidated loss widened to Rs 644.4 crore in the first quarter ended June 30.

The company had recorded a net loss of Rs 380.2 crore a year ago.

Paytm said its contribution profit, which excludes taxes and marketing expenses but includes promotional incentives, grew over three-fold to Rs 726 crore in June 2022 quarter from Rs 245 crore in the year-ago period.

The consolidated revenue from operations increased 89 per cent to Rs 1,680 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 891 crore in the June 2021 quarter.

"Earlier this year, we had shared that we would achieve operating profitability by September 2023, driven by better monetisation, as well as moderating growth in costs. The first quarter of the financial year 2023 results exhibit our strategy is well-in-place, with focused improvement on unit economics, better expense management and an increasing mix of higher margin businesses (such as financial services & commerce) steering us on the path to profitability," Paytm said.

The gross merchandise value more than doubled to Rs 3 lakh crore in the June 2022 quarter from Rs 1.5 lakh crore a year ago.

Paytm said that its monthly transacting users grew by 49 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 7.48 crore.

During the reported quarter, loans disbursed through Paytm grew by over eight-fold to Rs 5,554 crore from Rs 632 crore in the June 2021 quarter.

"Disbursements in our loan distribution business are annualising at a run-rate of about Rs 24,000 crore, and we believe there is ample opportunity for upsell in this business while being conservative on the quality of the book," Paytm said in the financial performance report.