- Paytm, backed by SoftBank Group Corp (OTC:SFTBY) (OTC:SFTBF) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's (NYSE:BABA) fintech affiliate Ant Group, looks to break even on an operating basis over the next year-and-a-half, Bloomberg reports.
- The Indian digital payments pioneer doubled its gross merchandise value to $34.3 billion in the March quarter.
- Paytm looks to become profitable in six quarters on operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization.
- Also Read: Alibaba Is The Real Winner From India's Biggest IPO - Read How
- The report noted that the brand listed as One 97 Communications Ltd, competing with the likes of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Pay, and Walmart Inc's (NYSE:WMT) PhonePe, averaged ~71 million transacting users in the quarter.
- Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has struggled to win back investor support since its initial public offering in November, the report added.
- While the offering raised a record-setting $2.5 billion, shares plunged 27% on debut and have dropped more than 70% as investors doubted its longer-term growth prospects and potential regulatory tangles.
- In March, the Reserve Bank of India banned Paytm's lending venture from accepting new customers, citing user data security concerns.
- Paytm has yet to appoint an independent firm to audit its practices.
- Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 1.89% at $108.90 in the premarket on the last check Wednesday.
