Paytm loss narrows to Rs 1,704 cr in FY21

Digital payments firm Paytm has narrowed its consolidated loss to Rs 1,704 crore in 2020-21 from Rs 2,943.32 crore in 2019-20, according to the company's annual report.

The company has reported narrowing of loss for the second consecutive year in FY21. Paytm slashed marketing cost by about 62 percent to Rs 533 crore in FY21 from Rs 1,397 crore a year ago.

When contacted, a Paytm spokesperson said: "Despite a significant disruption in the business of our merchant partners due to the ongoing pandemic especially in the first half of the year, we have had a minimal impact on revenues, due to strong recovery in the second half of the year."

The company's commerce and cloud revenues went down by about 38 percent in which it gets a significant amount from entertainment and travel ticketing which have been severely impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The total revenue of the company declined about 10 percent to Rs 3,186 crore in 2020-21 compared to Rs 3,540.77 crore in the previous year.

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"COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe and India. This has an impact on all local and global economic activities. The government of India has taken a series of measures to contain the spread of virus and limit economic impact on corporations and individuals.

"The company has considered the possible effects that may result from COVID-19, on the carrying amount of the receivables, investments, goodwill etc," the report said.

Paytm recorded an 11 percent increase in payments and financial services revenues at Rs 2,109 crore in FY21 compared to Rs 1,906 crore in FY20.

The company's expenses on employee benefits increased to Rs 1,184.9 crore in FY21 from Rs 1,119.3 crore in FY20.

The authorised share capital of the company stood at Rs 104.1 crore comprising over 10.41 lakh equity shares of Rs 10 each.