Paytm Q1 profit jumps 79 per cent to Rs 220 crore; board approves Rs 100 crore infusion into Paytm Money

MUMBAI: Paytm is keeping its balance sheet in good health. The fintech company reported another profitable quarter, with net profit rising nearly 79 per cent year on year as revenue continued to grow and the board cleared fresh investments in its wealth management business while strengthening its leadership team.

One 97 Communications, which operates the Paytm app, posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 220 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. The figure was up from Rs 183 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 123 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Revenue from operations rose to Rs 2,448 crore during the quarter, compared with Rs 2,264 crore in Q4 FY26 and Rs 1,918 crore a year earlier. Including other income of Rs 182 crore, total income stood at Rs 2,630 crore. For the full financial year 2025-26, the company generated Rs 8,437 crore in revenue from operations and Rs 9,291 crore in total income.

Total expenses for the quarter came in at Rs 2,383 crore, resulting in a profit before tax of Rs 247 crore. After a current tax expense of Rs 27 crore, the company reported net profit of Rs 220 crore. Basic earnings per share stood at Rs 3.44, while diluted earnings per share were Rs 3.40. Total comprehensive income for the quarter was Rs 218 crore.

Payment processing charges rose to Rs 794 crore, up from Rs 692 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 581 crore a year ago. Employee benefit expenses increased marginally to Rs 742 crore from Rs 739 crore in Q4 FY26 and Rs 642 crore in Q1 FY25.

Marketing and promotional expenditure remained unchanged sequentially at Rs 169 crore, although it was higher than Rs 100 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Software, cloud and data centre costs fell to Rs 159 crore from Rs 175 crore in the previous quarter, while depreciation and amortisation expenses declined to Rs 131 crore from Rs 132 crore in Q4 FY26 and Rs 166 crore a year earlier. Finance costs increased slightly to Rs 7 crore, while other administrative expenses stood at Rs 381 crore.

Alongside the results, the company’s board approved the appointment of Amit Singhal as an additional director in the non-executive, non-independent category, effective July 20, 2026. Singhal, who previously served as senior vice president of Google Search, is currently founder of the Sitare Foundation and Sitare University. His appointment is subject to shareholder approval at the company’s upcoming annual general meeting.

The board also approved an additional investment of up to Rs 100 crore in wholly owned subsidiary Paytm Money through a rights issue of up to 10 crore equity shares priced at Rs 10 each. The capital will support technology upgrades, regulatory capital requirements and the expansion of wealth management services. As the subsidiary is wholly owned, Paytm’s shareholding will remain unchanged.

In another capital allocation decision, the board proposed repurposing Rs 1,686 crore of unutilised IPO proceeds. Of the original Rs 8,119 crore raised through Paytm’s initial public offering, the company has already deployed Rs 6,433 crore. Subject to shareholder approval, the remaining funds can now be used interchangeably between strengthening Paytm’s core payments and merchant ecosystem and pursuing new business initiatives and strategic acquisitions. The utilisation timeline has also been proposed to be extended until March 31, 2029.

The board decided against issuing bonus shares, choosing instead to retain capital to support long-term growth and profitability. It also approved amendments to the company’s Employee Stock Option Scheme 2019, linking future stock option grants more closely with long-term business performance.

On the regulatory front, Paytm provided an update on the Enforcement Directorate show cause notice issued in February 2025 over alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act involving about Rs 611 crore across the parent company and subsidiaries Little Internet and Nearbuy India.

The company said the Reserve Bank of India had already compounded matters worth Rs 21 crore relating to Nearbuy and Rs 33 crore relating to the parent company, while also observing that transactions worth Rs 485 crore complied with applicable regulations. Appropriate provisions have been made for expected compounding fees.

Paytm also reiterated that it has no operational dependence on Paytm Payments Bank, whose banking licence was cancelled by the RBI in April 2026 and is currently under winding up. The company had fully impaired its investment in the bank in March 2024.

The filing also noted that Paytm completed the transfer of its offline merchant business to Paytm Payments Services through a Rs 975 crore slump sale in November 2025 to comply with RBI payment aggregator regulations, with no impact on consolidated financial statements.

Separately, following the closure of real-money gaming operations at First Games Technology, Paytm converted a previously impaired loan of Rs 197 crore, including accrued interest, into equity shares during the quarter, resulting in no additional financial impact.

With profits rising, revenue expanding and fresh investments planned for its wealth business, Paytm enters the rest of FY27 with a stronger balance sheet and a sharper focus on scaling its financial services platform.