Paytm shares jump 8% as subsidiary gets research analyst certificate from SEBI

Shares of One97 Communications, the parent company of digital payments provider Paytm, jumped as much as 8% in intraday trade on Tuesday after its wholly-owned subsidiary Paytm Money was granted a certificate of registration as a research analyst by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

With SEBI registration, Paytm Money can offer SEBI-compliant research services, including investment insights, research reports, and data-driven analysis, Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led One97 Communications said in a statement.

“This milestone aligns with Paytm Money’s objective to expand its offerings in the investment ecosystem, enhance user experience, and provide expert-backed insights to both retail and institutional investors. These services will soon be integrated into the Paytm Money app as part of a research and advisory offering, empowering investors to make well-informed financial decisions,” the company said.

Reacting to SEBI’s certification, shares of Paytm rose 7.7% to hit a high of ₹741.85 on the BSE, taking the company’s market cap to around ₹47,000 crore.

One97 Communications reported a 6% year-on-year reduction in its net loss to ₹208 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, compared to ₹222 crore in the same quarter last year. The digital payments firm posted a profit of ₹930 crore in the September quarter, mainly due to a one-off gain from selling its entertainment ticketing business to Zomato.

The company’s revenue for the third quarter declined by 36% year-on-year, reaching ₹1,827 crore, down from ₹2,850 crore in the same period last year. However, on a sequential basis, revenue increased by 10%, driven by a rise in GMV (gross merchandise value), higher subscription revenues, and growth in revenues from distributing financial services.

Paytm saw its cash balance increase by ₹2,851 crore sequentially, reaching ₹12,850 crore at the end of the third quarter. This increase was primarily due to the sale of PayPay's stake and improvements in working capital.

Payment services revenue grew by 8% quarter-on-quarter to ₹1,059 crore, thanks to a rise in GMV and merchant subscriptions. Meanwhile, revenue from financial services saw a sharp rise of 34% sequentially, reaching ₹502 crore.

For the first nine months of FY25, Paytm’s employee costs, excluding ESOP, were ₹451 crore lower compared to the previous year, and the company said it is on track to exceed its target of annualised cost savings of ₹400-500 crore.

Paytm sees a significant opportunity in India’s large micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector for mobile payments and financial services distribution. The company highlighted that the merchant lifecycle offers substantial monetisation potential. It projects that more than 10 crore merchants in India will adopt mobile payments, and over time, 40-50% of them will require software, hardware, or a combination of products to manage their digital payments.