(Reuters) -Indian fintech firm Paytm swung to a profit for the first time since September 2024, driven by robust growth in its lending business and tight cost controls, and said it expects a further improvement in earnings.
The company posted a net profit of 1.23 billion rupees ($14.24 million) for the quarter ended June 30. It had last posted a profit in the September 2024 quarter due to a one-time gain from the sale of its ticketing business.
The firm had posted a loss of 8.39 billion rupees in April-June a year earlier after the central bank ordered a shut down of its banking unit in January 2024.
Since then, Paytm has increased its focus on core businesses and cut expenses and had projected a profit for the June quarter, when its revenue rose 28% to 19.18 billion rupees.
Revenue from financial services, which includes the loan business, doubled year-on-year and that from payment services climbed 18%.
Analysts said that Paytm logged strong growth in the merchant lending segments even as growth in personal loans stayed weak amid tightening of credit in the segment.
"For personal loans, based on the current trends, there are early signs of recovery," Paytm said.
Its expenses fell 19% year-on-year to 20.16 billion rupees during the quarter.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization before the cost of employee stock options, a key metric, stood at 1.02 billion rupees.
Paytm's shares rose 3.3% to a seven-month high before the results.
($1 = 86.3470 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
