One 97 Communications, the company that operates the Paytm payments and wallet service, reported continued momentum in its business and turnover, even as end-user growth started to show signs of a slowdown.
The company added only around 2 million active users during the three months ended June, compared to 5 million in each of the preceding three quarters.
However, it had no trouble reporting a strong performance in other metrics -- particularly in terms of volumes.
Gross merchandise value, an indicator of the total money that passed through its network during the three months from April to June, jumped by Rs 43,000 crore to Rs 4.05 lakh crore.
The increase in GMV -- which is an indicator of the company's total business -- was higher than that seen in recent quarters. For example, in the preceding quarter (January-March), GMV had increased by only Rs 16,000 cr, and the three months before that, it had increased by only Rs 28,000 crore.
In fact, the latest number is likely the highest increase in GMV recorded by the company in any single quarter after the COVID spike seen in 2020.
Another area where Paytm saw continued strength and momentum was in the acceptance of its 'sound box' and card machines. Here, it added a whopping 11 lakh new merchants to its network during the three months, taking the total to 79 lakh.
This was likely the company's highest ever increase in the addition of such devices. In the preceding three quarters, it had added 10 lakh such devices each.
Such additions are profitable for the company as merchants have to pay a certain subscription fees to the company on these devices.
The company continued to find momentum in its loans business also. Under this business, Paytm ties up with banks and non-bank lenders to supply loans to its users.
Total disbursements through One 97's platform was up 167% on the year Rs 14,845 Cr. However, it said, part of the increase was due to a sudden increase in disbursal by one of its partners in May as that partner was upgrading its systems.
"Our focus remains on the asset quality by continuously reviewing with our partners cohort data and tightening credit policy wherever needed proactively. This reflects in the growth of value of loans distributed in the quarter," it said.
Paytm currently has seven active lending partners, and plans to onboard three to four new partners by March, it added. The latest to come onboard was Shriram Finance, which joined last week.