One 97 Communications (NSE:PAYTM), the parent company of Indian fintech pioneer Paytm, announced its financial results for the quarter ending December 2025, reporting a significant swing to profitability alongside robust revenue growth. The company’s operating revenue rose 20% year-on-year to ₹2,194 crore, driven by momentum in payment services and the distribution of financial products.
Latest Q3 and 9M Financial Results
For the quarter ended December 2025, Paytm reported:
- Operating revenue for Q3 FY26 rose 20% year-on-year to ₹2,194 crore, driven by higher payments GMV, increased merchant subscriptions and strong growth in financial services distribution.
- EBITDA turned positive at ₹156 crore in Q3 FY26 versus a loss of ₹223 crore a year earlier, with EBITDA margin improving to 7%.
- Profit after tax (PAT) came in at ₹225 crore for the quarter, an improvement of ₹433 crore year-on-year.
For the nine-month ended December 2025, Paytm reported:
- Nine-month revenue grew 24% year-on-year to ₹6,173 crore.
- For the nine months, EBITDA improved to ₹370 crore from a loss of ₹1,418 crore last year.
- Nine-month PAT stood at ₹369 crore versus a loss of ₹118 crore a year earlier.
Business and Operations Update
Paytm continued to expand its core payments franchise across both consumers and merchants, supported by product innovation and wider device deployment.
- Contribution profit increased 30% year-on-year to ₹1,249 crore, lifting contribution margin to 57% (up around 5 percentage points), helped by better payment processing margins and lower direct costs. Nine-month contribution margin reached 58%.
- Payments scale strengthened with GMV up 24% year-on-year to ₹6.2 lakh crore in Q3. Net payment revenue rose 25% to ₹613 crore as processing margins improved.
- Merchant ecosystem expanded, with subscription merchants (including devices) reaching 1.44 crore, up 27 lakh year-on-year.
- Merchant transactions grew 32% year-on-year.
- Consumer engagement improved, with average monthly transacting users (MTU) rising to 7.6 crore, up 9% year-on-year, alongside continued gains in UPI market share.
Other Major Developments
- Operationally, Paytm consolidated its merchant acquiring business under its subsidiary Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL) after receiving Reserve Bank of India approvals for online, offline and cross-border payment aggregation.
- Internationally, the group approved incorporation of subsidiaries in Indonesia and Luxembourg and agreed to induct a strategic partner into its UAE payments unit, which will remain majority owned. These steps align with its framework to expand selected overseas payment opportunities while maintaining capital discipline.
Investor Sentiment & Outlook
Investor confidence is bolstered by Paytm’s commitment to transparency; the company has discontinued the use of “adjusted” metrics, reporting all results on a GAAP basis. Cost discipline remains a priority, with indirect expenses falling 8% year-on-year. This was partly driven by a decline in non-sales employee costs following the CEO’s voluntary surrender of ESOPs in a previous quarter.
Paytm maintains a robust liquidity position with a total cash balance of ₹12,882 crore. While the company noted the expiration of the Payment Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) incentive in December 2025, management expects to offset this through increased revenue and targeted sales efforts. As the company enters 2026, it remains focused on leveraging AI to drive merchant retention and expand leadership in the Indian financial ecosystem.