One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, reported a consolidated profit attributable to owners of the parent of ₹226 crore for the September quarter of FY27, compared with ₹21 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations rose 28.5% year-on-year to ₹2,648 crore.
Total income, including other income of ₹182 crore, stood at ₹2,830 crore during the quarter, while total expenses increased to ₹2,531 crore from ₹2,062 crore a year earlier, according to the company’s consolidated financial results filed on October 26.
The sharp increase in reported profit comes against a relatively low base in the year-ago quarter, when Paytm recorded a one-time impairment of ₹190 crore on a loan to First Games Technology, its joint venture operating in the real-money gaming business.
EBITDA nearly doubles
Paytm’s EBITDA stood at ₹270 crore in the September quarter, compared with ₹141 crore a year earlier, based on calculations using the figures in the financial results. This represents an increase of around 92% year-on-year.
EBITDA margin improved to approximately 10.2% from 6.8% in the corresponding quarter last year. These figures are calculated rather than separately reported line items in the consolidated profit and loss statement.
Paytm expects MDR to lift payment margins
In a separate disclosure included in its October 26 filing, Paytm said the proposed merchant discount rate (MDR) framework for select UPI person-to-merchant transactions could improve its payment processing margin.
The company said its payment processing margin (PPM), defined as MDR revenue earned on payments gross merchandise value (GMV) net of payment processing charges, had been expanding structurally and was already comfortably above four basis points.
Based on the proposed MDR cap of 0.4% on select payments above ₹2,000 made to non-industry merchants, and its current GMV mix, Paytm expects an indicative improvement of around 2.5 basis points in overall PPM.
The company said the actual impact could stabilise over two to three quarters after implementation. It added that MDR implementation was expected immediately after Diwali, with the specific date to be notified separately.
Investments in technology and overseas business
The board also approved an additional investment of up to ₹500 crore in Paytm Cloud Technologies, its wholly owned subsidiary, over the next 12 months. Paytm Cloud Technologies has, in turn, approved an investment of up to ₹500 crore in Paytm Singapore, its wholly owned subsidiary.
The proposed investments are intended to support working capital requirements, investments and business expansion at both entities.