Paytm net loss widens in Q4 at ₹763 crore, contribution profit up 210%

Paytm, which saw robust operational growth across its businesses in FY22, has reported a net loss of ₹763 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2022. This net loss was up 72 per cent over a net loss of ₹444 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. For the December 2021 quarter, the company had reported a net loss of ₹779 crore.

However, the revenue from operations for the quarter under review recorded robust 89 per cent growth to ₹1,541 crore (₹815 crore). This was driven by 52 per cent year-on-year growth in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) from Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) bearing instruments, 2.1 million new devices, and 417 per cent year-on-year growth in the value of loans disbursed.

In the December 2021 quarter, revenue from operations stood at ₹1,456 crore. For the full fiscal 2021-22, consolidated revenue from operations grew 77 per cent to ₹4,974 crore (₹2,802 crore). Net loss for fiscal 2021-22 stood at ₹2,396 crore, up 41 per cent over a net loss of ₹1,701 crore in the previous fiscal.

Contribution profit (which is revenue from operations less direct costs) grew 210 per cent for the quarter under review at ₹539.2 crore (₹174.1 crore), Paytm’s filing with the stock exchanges showed. For the quarter ended December 31, 2021, Contribution profit had come in at ₹453.7 crore.

Paytm’s Q4 FY2022 witnessed a strong improvement in contribution margins to 35 per cent, up from 31 per cent in Q3 FY2022 and 21 per cent in Q4 FY2021. “We expect to see continued improvements in contribution margin in Q1 FY2023 and going forward”, the Paytm management said in the filings.

In the entire 2021-22, the Contribution margin came in at ₹1,498 crore, up 313 per cent over the contribution profit of ₹362.5 crore in the previous fiscal. Paytm management said that the company was on track to achieve an operating break-even (EBIDTA before ESOP cost) by September 2023.

Loan business

One of the highlights of Q4 FY22 and FY22 has been the rapid scale-up of Paytm’s loan disbursement business, where it offers Paytm Postpaid (Buy Now, Pay Later), personal loans and merchant loans. In April 2022, the company reached an annualised run rate of about ₹20,000 crore of disbursement through its platform.

The number of loans disbursed through the Paytm platform has grown 478 per cent year-on-year to 15.2 million in FY2022 from 2.6 million in FY2021. The value of loans disbursed grew 441 per cent year-on-year from ₹1,409 crore in FY2020-21 to ₹ 7,623 crore in FY2021-22.

Published on

May 21, 2022