NEW DELHI: Paytm’s first annual general meeting (AGM) after becoming a publicly listed company was a conspicuous affair. The company till late Friday did not disclose the results of the AGM vote amid opposition by three proxy advisory firms to founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s reappointment as the chief executive officer for another five years and his hefty remuneration.
While some shareholders made remarks such as Har Ghar Tiranga Har Ghar Paytm (every house has the Indian flag and every house has Paytm) and that Sharma’s heart is ‘clear’, there were many who expressed their displeasure on Paytm’s dismal performance on the stock market and company’s inability to turn profitable. “The management takes home big salaries.
How can a company still run on losses even as every home uses Paytm? It’s very unfortunate that the share prices have fallen by more than half,” said a shareholder. Proxy advisory firm - Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IIAS)- which had advised shareholders to oppose Sharma’s reappointment along with his remuneration has estimated Sharma’s FY23 remuneration at around Rs 796 crore, which comprises 21 million stock options.
Another shareholder said that everyone who purchased shares during the initial public offering is cursing the management and that he doesn’t think that the fintech firm can achieve profitability even in the financial year 2024.
On questions as to when the company would turn profitable and recover in share prices, Sharma said while profitability plays an important role in share prices there are other sentiments that drive share prices as well.
“We are ensuring that the company is profitable. In due course the stock price will take care of itself,” said Sharma, whose company last year launched the mega Rs 18,300 crore IPO at a hefty valuation of nearly Rs 1.40 lakh crore. Its stock is down 64 per cent from the IPO offer price of Rs 2,150 apiece and its consolidated loss widened to Rs 644.4 crore in Q1FY23 against a net loss of Rs 380.2 crore in the year-ago quarter.