Paytm's parent company One97 Communications' losses double to Rs 4,217 crore in FY19

Paytm's parent company One97 Communications Ltd reported a significant loss and a marginal increase in revenue in the last financial year. On a consolidated basis that includes businesses like Paytm Money, Paytm Financial Services, Paytm Entertainment Services and others, the company reported a net loss of Rs 4,217 crore from Rs 1,604.34 crore a year ago, as per the company's annual report. Losses in this period increased more than double.

One97 Communications' standalone net losses mounted to Rs 3,959.6 crore for the year ending March 31, 2019 against Rs 1,490 crore for the same period previous year. The company's total revenue rose marginally by 8.2 per cent to Rs 3,579.67 crore in this period from Rs 3,309.61 crore a year ago. The company's expenses nearly doubled to Rs 7,730.14 crore from Rs 4,864.53 crore in the previous year.

The company said in the annual report, "The company has incurred huge capital expenditure in creating a brand and establishing its business activity. We have incurred a considerable amount in various capital & operational expenditures which resulted into losses during the financial year."

Paytm founder and Managing Director Vijay Shekhar Sharma owns 15.7 per cent of the parent company. Sharma said that the company was looking to go public in the next two years even as it was reporting losses.

According to the company, Paytm recorded 1.2 billion merchant transactions in the first three months of 2019.

The company last raised $300 million from Berkshire Hathaway in 2018. It is also backed by Softbank and Alibaba.

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