Paytm achieves EBITDA before ESOP profitability to Rs 81 cr, losses sharply narrow to Rs 23 cr

NEW DELHI: Paytm, a payments and financial services distribution, has reported a strong performance for Q4 FY25, marking a key milestone by achieving profitability at the EBITDA before ESOP level. This is a major step forward in the fintech major’s path to sustained profitability and reflects the impact of its ongoing efforts in cost control and operational efficiency.

As per the company statement, in the Jan-Mar quarter, Paytm delivered an EBITDA before ESOP profit of Rs 81 crore, demonstrating its ability to generate operating profits before accounting for stock-based expenses. This marks a key milestone for the fintech leader, with steady progress in its core business and early signs of user growth as it resumes UPI onboarding and focuses on payments and financial services.

Additionally, Paytm’s net losses have narrowed sharply. Excluding a one-time non-cash exceptional ESOP charge of Rs 522 crore, the company’s Profit After Tax (PAT) improved to just Rs (23) crore in Q4 FY25. This represents a significant quarter-on-quarter improvement and shows that Paytm is edging closer to overall profitability.

This comes alongside the voluntary decision by the company’s founder and CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, to forgo all 2.1 crore ESOPs granted to him this quarter, contributing to the one-off adjustment The company has clarified that the ESOP-related charge this quarter is a one-time non-cash accounting adjustment and does not impact its core business performance or cash reserves.

Paytm’s growing financial services business is playing a major role in its path to profitability, with revenue rising 9 per cent sequentially to Rs 545 crore, supported by higher merchant loan disbursements and better collection efficiency. At the same time, Paytm’s merchant ecosystem continues to scale. During the quarter, the company added 8 lakh new merchants to its payment devices network, taking the total merchant subscriber base to 1.24 crore as of March 2025.

This sustained merchant adoption is reinforcing Paytm’s leadership in offline payments, a critical driver of its revenue. With a strong cash balance of Rs 12,809 crore at the end of March 2025, the company says it maintains ample financial flexibility to invest in its core businesses and future product innovations. (ANI)