Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications reported a reduced consolidated loss of Rs 545 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2025, helped by lower payment processing charges and employee benefit expenses. The results include a notional, non-cash loss of Rs 522 crore, comprising Rs 492 crore in ESOP expenses and Rs 30 crore in impairments, following CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s voluntary surrender of 2.1 crore shares. Excluding this exceptional item, the quarterly loss stood at Rs 23 crore. “Paytm’s PAT improved by Rs 185 crore quarter-over-quarter to a negative Rs 23 crore in Q4 FY25, excluding the one-time ESOP charge,” the company said in a release. Operational profit, excluding ESOP costs, rose to Rs 81 crore for the quarter. Employee expenses declined sharply to Rs 748.3 crore from Rs 1,104.4 crore a year earlier, with the company citing AI-driven efficiencies in non-sales functions. Revenue fell to Rs 1,911.5 crore from Rs 2,267.1 crore in Q4 FY24, including Rs 70 crore in UPI incentives. For FY25, Paytm’s annual loss narrowed to Rs 645.2 crore from Rs 1,390.4 crore in FY24, while revenue declined to Rs 6,900 crore from Rs 9,977.8 crore. Financial services posted sequential growth of 9 per cent with revenue at Rs 545 crore, supported by merchant lending, higher trail income from the DLG portfolio, and improved collections. Gross merchandise value (GMV) rose 19 per cent year-on-year to Rs 5.1 lakh crore. Monthly transacting users fell 25 per cent year-on-year to 7.2 crore but grew 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Capital expenditure dropped to Rs 317 crore in FY25 from Rs 813 crore in FY24, reflecting a shift towards device refurbishment and reduced early-year deployments.