The top digital payment company in India, Paytm, reported a smaller third-quarter loss as a result of increased sales. According to a statement released by the company on Friday, the net loss for the three months ending in December decreased from 7.8 billion rupees a year earlier to 3.9 billion rupees ($48 million).
Operations revenue increased by 42% to 20.6 billion rupees, while overall costs increased more slowly. In an effort to persuade investors of its profitability potential, Paytm is expanding its product line in an effort to draw in more clients.
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Since its high-profile $2.5 billion IPO in late 2021, shares of Paytm have fallen 76% due to worries about rising losses and escalating competition from Walmart Inc.’s PhonePe, Alphabet Inc.’s Google Pay, Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Pay, and numerous fintech companies.
Paytm’s founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, promised a shift in emphasis from expansion toward profitability in a July interview. In a letter to shareholders on Friday, Sharma predicted that “we will shortly accomplish our next milestone of being a free cash flow generating company.”
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SoftBank Group Corp. of Japan and Ant Group Co. of China are two of Paytm’s investors. Following the expiration of a one-year lock-in for some owners on November 15, which allowed them to lower their shares, the stock price has been erratic recently.
After SoftBank reduced its interest in the company in November, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. sold a 3% stake in it in January. Paytm’s December announcement of a buyback did little to soothe investors.
Paytm announced on Friday that Ant executive Douglas Feagin had resigned from the board, noting the company’s expanding scope and maturity. After the fintech company’s IPO, he exits the company along with SoftBank executives.
With the amount of loans it has distributed more than doubling from a year earlier to 10.5 million, Paytm claimed its loan business has continued to grow.
