Paytm, operated by One97 Communications, announced its Q3 FY25 financial results, showcasing consistent performance in its marketing services division. This segment, which includes advertising, travel bookings, credit card distribution, and deals, generated ₹267 crore in revenue, marginally lower than ₹268 crore in Q2 FY25, despite the sale of its entertainment ticketing business last quarter.
The company continues to prioritize empowering merchants through its marketing services, leveraging a large base of monthly active users (MTU). The average MTU count stood at seven crore for Q3 FY25, a slight dip from 7.1 crore in Q2.
While operational revenue fell 35.8% year-on-year to ₹1,827.8 crore, it saw a 10% quarter-on-quarter increase. Gross merchandise value (GMV) for ticketing, deals, and gift vouchers rose to ₹2,281 crore, reflecting sequential growth excluding the impact of entertainment ticketing.
Key Highlights:
- Cost Efficiency: Paytm significantly reduced indirect expenses to ₹1,000 crore, a 7% quarterly and 23% yearly decline. Marketing costs dropped 17% to ₹104 crore, while employee costs were reduced by 6% quarterly and 29% yearly, down to ₹575 crore.
- Credit Card Distribution: Despite slower growth due to cautious issuers, Paytm reported 13.9 lakh activated credit cards as of December 2024, compared to 10.1 lakh in the previous year.
Earlier in 2024, restrictions on its banking partner imposed by India’s central bank disrupted operations. In response, founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma strengthened partnerships with other banks and divested the company’s movie and events ticketing business to Zomato.
Paytm is awaiting approval from the Reserve Bank of India to function as a payments aggregator, enabling merchants to simplify digital payments further.
