Paytm parent reports lower Q4 revenue, loss widens

livemint.com:

BENGALURU : One 97 Communications, the parent of payments aggregator Paytm, on Wednesday reported a fall in its fiscal fourth quarter revenue, hurt by a dwindling customer base after the regulatory authorities directed the payment giant to halt certain banking activities. Losses also widened for the three months through March on the back of an impairment of ₹227 crore for carrying the value of company's investment in Paytm Payments Bank Ltd, it said in a statement. Revenue fell to ₹2,399 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024, from ₹2,465 crore a year earlier.

Losses during the period widened to ₹551 crore compared to ₹168 crore from a year earlier. One 97 Communications has said it expects to see the full financial impact of the “temporary disruptions" in the first quarter of FY25, following the Reserve Bank of India's restrictions on the fintech in January. As a result, June quarter revenues are likely to range between ₹1,500 crore to ₹1,600 crore, the company said.

However, the company it is confident of seeing a meaningful improvement starting from the September quarter (Q2FY25), based on restarting paused products and achieving steady growth in its operating metrics. It is also planning to double down its focus on insurance and wealth to "improve bottomline". Since the beginning of this year, the Paytm stock has declined a significant 46%.

Shares were down over 1% at ₹346.75 apiece on the National Stock Exchange following the announcement of the results. "We have successfully transitioned our core payment business from PPBL (Paytm Payments Bank Ltd) to other partner banks. This move de-risks our business model and also opens up new opportunities for long-term monetization, given our platform’s strength around