Paytm, the leading fintech brand operated by One 97 Communications, has reported a 25% surge in revenue, reaching Rs 9,978 crore during the financial year 2023-24. The company attributed the growth to the increasing gross merchandise value (GMV), expansion of merchant devices, and the flourishing financial services distribution business.
Paytm achieved EBITDA profitability before ESOP costs of Rs 559 crore for the first full year since its initial public offering (IPO).
During the fourth quarter of FY2023-24, Paytm recorded a revenue of Rs 2,267 crore, a 3% year-on-year decline. The company attributed this dip to lower marketing expenditures, as user growth spending was temporarily paused in February and March. However, Paytm expects to reinvest in these areas during the upcoming financial year.
“While we experienced a financial impact in Q4 due to the above disruptions, the full financial impact will be seen in Q1 FY 2025,” Paytm stated in a stock exchange filing. The company expressed confidence in achieving meaningful improvements starting from the second quarter of FY2024-25, driven by the reinitiation of certain paused products and steady growth in operating metrics.
In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Paytm’s focus will be on acquiring new merchants, reactivating inactive merchants, and redeploying devices from inactive merchants to new ones. While net additions of device merchants may be smaller in Q1 FY2025, the company anticipates improved net additions from thereon, recovering to past trendlines by the third quarter of FY2025.
Key financial highlights for FY2023-24 include a 26% increase in revenue from payment services to Rs 6,235 crore, a 50% rise in net payment margin to Rs 2,955 crore, and a 39% growth in GMV to Rs 18.3 lakh crore. Additionally, the number of merchant-paying subscriptions for devices reached 1.07 crore as of March 2024, an increase of 39 lakh.
Paytm’s financial services and other revenue segments also witnessed a 30% increase, reaching Rs 2,004 crore, while the value of loans distributed grew by 48% to Rs 52,390 crore.
Addressing the temporary impact on active rates and per-device subscription revenue, Paytm stated that merchant subscription revenue in Q4 was Rs 90 per device per month and expects it to bottom out at Rs 80 in Q1, before gradually increasing towards Rs 100 by the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year.
“We continue to address our merchants’ needs through innovative product launches and are backed by a large distribution and service network. We recently launched two more ‘Made in India’ soundboxes which are customized to the needs of our merchants, with louder speakers and longer battery life,” Paytm said.
(Inputs from ANI)
