Digital payments major Paytm reported a net profit of Rs 21 crore in the September quarter, down 97% from Rs 930 crore in the same period last year. The sharp decline was due to a Rs 190-crore impairment loss on its investment in Paytm First Games, a joint venture with One97 Communications, following the government’s ban on real-money gaming applications.
In the year-ago quarter, Paytm had reported a large profit on account of the sale of its ticketing business to Zomato, which resulted in a one-time gain.
The Noida-headquartered company’s operating revenue rose 24% year-on-year to Rs 2,061 crore, from Rs 1,659 crore last year. Overall expenses were trimmed to Rs 2,062 crore, compared to Rs 2,245 crore a year earlier, with payment processing charges and employee costs continuing to be the largest outlays.
The company said its customer acquisition cost dropped 42% year-on-year but rose 16% sequentially, without disclosing absolute numbers. Paytm added that it is investing heavily in building sales teams in smaller towns to deepen merchant engagement, with sales-related expenses rising 39% to Rs 297 crore.
It closed the quarter with a cash balance of Rs 13,068 crore, which provides a cushion for future business investments. The Ebitda margin improved to 7%, compared to -24% a year ago.
Paytm processed Rs 5.7 lakh crore in total payment volume during the quarter, up 5% sequentially from Rs 5.4 lakh crore. Its merchant base rose 22% year-on-year to 13.7 million, while monthly transacting users recovered to 75 million, after being hit by the Reserve Bank of India’s clampdown on its banking business earlier this year.
Revenue from financial services climbed to Rs 611 crore, driven by higher merchant loans. However, marketing services revenue fell to Rs 228 crore from Rs 268 crore a year ago, following the sale of the ticketing vertical Paytm Insider to Zomato last year.
Paytm’s stock closed 0.53% lower at Rs 1,268.25 on the BSE on November 4.
In the year-ago quarter, Paytm had reported a large profit on account of the sale of its ticketing business to Zomato, which resulted in a one-time gain.
The Noida-headquartered company’s operating revenue rose 24% year-on-year to Rs 2,061 crore, from Rs 1,659 crore last year. Overall expenses were trimmed to Rs 2,062 crore, compared to Rs 2,245 crore a year earlier, with payment processing charges and employee costs continuing to be the largest outlays.
The company said its customer acquisition cost dropped 42% year-on-year but rose 16% sequentially, without disclosing absolute numbers. Paytm added that it is investing heavily in building sales teams in smaller towns to deepen merchant engagement, with sales-related expenses rising 39% to Rs 297 crore.
It closed the quarter with a cash balance of Rs 13,068 crore, which provides a cushion for future business investments. The Ebitda margin improved to 7%, compared to -24% a year ago.
Paytm processed Rs 5.7 lakh crore in total payment volume during the quarter, up 5% sequentially from Rs 5.4 lakh crore. Its merchant base rose 22% year-on-year to 13.7 million, while monthly transacting users recovered to 75 million, after being hit by the Reserve Bank of India’s clampdown on its banking business earlier this year.
Revenue from financial services climbed to Rs 611 crore, driven by higher merchant loans. However, marketing services revenue fell to Rs 228 crore from Rs 268 crore a year ago, following the sale of the ticketing vertical Paytm Insider to Zomato last year.
Paytm’s stock closed 0.53% lower at Rs 1,268.25 on the BSE on November 4.