PB Fintech shares drop up to 3.8% after promoters sell stake

Shares of PB Fintech, the parent company of PolicyBazaar and Paisabazaar, dropped by up to 3.8% to a low of Rs 1,296.60 during early trading on Friday after promoters trimmed their stake.

PB Fintech co-founders and CEO Yashish Dahiya, along with Executive VP Alok Bansal, sold 83.7 lakh shares, equivalent to a 1.86% stake in the company, in the pre-opening session, the company said in an exchange filing.

A significant portion of the funds from the sale is intended to cover the taxes on current and future ESOP exercises. ESOPs incur taxes upon exercise, as well as capital gains tax when the shares are sold.

After the sale, Dahiya retains a 4.83% stake, and Bansal holds a 1.63% stake in PB Fintech on a fully diluted basis.

"For the avoidance of any doubt, there is no further sale of shares planned beyond the aforesaid shares, at least for 1 year," the filing read.

On Wednesday, the fintech firm, along with 13 other companies, bagged an entry into the MSCI India Index, which is a part of the MSCI Global Standard Index.

Following its addition to the Global Standard Index, PB Fintech may see maximum inflows worth $283 million, according to Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research.

PB Fintech recorded a net profit of Rs 60.1 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2024, marking a second consecutive profitable quarter.

The insurance and credit marketplace's operating revenue rose 25.3% to Rs 1,089 crore in Q4 compared to Rs 870 crore in the previous quarter. The company reported Rs 869 crore in operating revenue in the same period last year.