Fintech firm One97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand, expects to generate free cash flow by the end of this year, a top company official said on Saturday. Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said in an earnings call that the company’s growth in the June 2023 quarter was driven by expansion in payments, financial services and commerce business.
“We are on track for our committed guidance of making free cash flow positive by the end of the year,” Sharma said. Paytm has reported a narrowing in loss to Rs 358.4 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2023. The company had posted a loss of Rs 645.4 crore in the same period a year ago.
Its revenue from operations grew 39.4 per cent to Rs 2,341.6 crore during the reported quarter, as against Rs 1,679.6 crore in the June 2022 quarter. The company said its merchant payment volume (GMV) grew 37 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4.05 lakh crore in the April-June quarter of FY 2023-24.
Sharing an update on RBI’s bar on Paytm Payments Bank adding new customers, Sharma said it has submitted a compliance report to the banking regulator, and the same is being reviewed.
He said that the approval from the Reserve Bank of India has taken more time than expected but it is expected to come soon.
During the financial year (FY) 2022, the RBI directed Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) to stop onboarding new customers from March 1, 2022. In FY2023, the apex bank appointed an external auditor to conduct a comprehensive systems audit of PPBL.
On October 21, 2022, PPBL received the final report from RBI, underlining the need for continued strengthening of IT outsourcing processes and operational risk management including KYC etc. in the bank.