Paytm's Shares Hit Fresh All-Time High

Shares of Paytm rallied as much as 0.9% to hit a fresh all-time high of INR 1,238.55 during the early trading hours today, reportedly on the back of Motilal Oswal increasing its stake in the company.

At 11:30 AM, the shares of Paytm were trading at INR 1233.40 apiece, with the company’s market capitalisation at INR 78,666.99 Cr and 21.8 Lakh shares changing hands.

The all-time high price stands 145.1% above its 52-week low of INR 505.25 and 20.8% lower than its listing price of INR 1564.15 on the BSE on November 18, 2021.

As per Moneycontrol’s report, Motilal Oswal Fund crossed the 5% shareholding mark in Paytm after purchasing an additional 26.31 lakh shares through open market in August 2024.

On the financial front, Paytm saw a sharp recovery in the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal year. The company turned profitable in the Q1 FY26, posting a consolidated net profit of INR 122.5 Cr against a net loss of INR 840.1 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

Meanwhile its top line grew 28% to INR 1,918 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 1,502 Cr in Q1 FY25. Notably, Paytm’s other income zoomed 47% YoY to INR 241.4 Cr during the quarter due to receipt of interest on tax refund.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted in-principle authorisation to Paytm’s subsidiaryPaytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL),to operate as a payment aggregator (PA).

Paytm’s Comeback Tale

In the beginning of 2024, profitability seemed like a remote chance for Paytm after RBI put restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank. This resulted in loss mounting up, losing grip over customers and decline in the number of merchants.

Paytm reported a consolidated net loss of INR 840 Cr in the first quarter of FY25. And now, exactly one year later, the company has again moved into the black.

While revaluating its business after RBI’s crackdown, Paytm decided to exit its non-core financial businesses. For instance, the fintech giant sold Paytm Insider to Zomato and its stake in Australian-based PayPay to SoftBank. Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company redirected its focus on its payments business.

On the other hand, Paytm pushed merchant acquisition and the subscription fee became a huge chunk of revenue. Its registered merchant base rose 11% YoY to 4.5 Cr in the June quarter.

Besides, the company also focused on leveraging AI with Paytm ARMs (merchant lifestyle insight platform) and Paytm Pi (fraud and detection platform).

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