Pine Labs posts first profit after market debut on lower costs, margin gains
Meanwhile, revenue from operations climbed 18% year-on-year to Rs 649.90 crore from Rs 551.57 crore in the same period last year.
Pine Labs on Wednesday posted a profit for the second consecutive quarter, as the newly listed payments company cut depreciation and ESOP charges while higher-margin businesses lifted earnings.
In Q2 FY26, Pine Labs' net profit rose to Rs 5.97 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 32.01 crore a year earlier. Sequentially, profit rose marginally from Rs 4.79 crore in Q1.
Meanwhile, revenue from operations climbed 18% year-on-year to Rs 649.90 crore from Rs 551.57 crore in the same period last year. Total income rose to Rs 672.91 crore against Rs 573.53 crore a year earlier.
On Wednesday, Pine Labs closed 0.84% lower, trading at Rs 247.60 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Total expenses also rose a little over 8% YoY to Rs 661.68 crore from Rs 611.83 crore a year earlier, keeping cost growth well below the pace of revenue expansion.
Operating performance improved sharply. Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to Rs 122 crore, expanding the margin to 19% from 14% earlier. Contribution margin rose 21% YoY to Rs 497 crore, helped by Pine Labs’ shift toward software-led, asset-light products and lower hardware intensity.
Profitability also benefited from declining device-related depreciation as the company moved to a capex-light model, as well as from a drop in ESOP expenses, with older grants nearing expiry and newer grants issued closer to fair market value. Depreciation on devices fell to about 5% of revenue from 7% a year earlier.
Pine Labs has moderated hiring, with employee costs rising 9% YoY on a modest 6% increase in headcount. The company said every Rs 100 of incremental contribution margin now generates Rs 50–57 of incremental adjusted EBITDA, underscoring operating leverage.
The company claimed to have processed its highest-ever quarterly gross transaction value of over $48.2 billion (Rs 4.24 lakh crore), while the total transactions it processed during Q2 rose 44% YoY to 1.9 billion.
International operations continued to expand, growing roughly 30% YoY and contributing 17% of revenue. Pine Labs said it now serves clients across 20 countries, with programmes live for large retailers, fintechs, and airlines in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and the United States.
The fintech company made a strong debut on the Indian stock exchanges last month, opening well above its issue price. The stock began trading at Rs 242 on the BSE and NSE—a 9.5% premium to its issue price of Rs 221.
The company had priced the offering within Rs 210–221 per share. With a solid investor demand, the IPO drew bids for 24.09 crore shares against 9.79 crore on offer, translating to a 2.46-times subscription.