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Paytm Q4 losses tripled; Oyo IPO withdrawn
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Troubled fintech Paytm reported its first quarterly earnings after the RBI banned its payments bank in January. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Nykaa profit up fourfold
■ Byju’s vs lenders in US court
■ Awfis IPO gets robust response
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma
One 97 Communications, which runs digital payments firm Paytm, announced its first quarterly earnings after the country’s central bank imposed a ban of its payments bank on January 31.
Key financials:
![Paytms earnings snapshot May 2024 Graphic ETTECH Paytms earnings snapshot May 2024 Graphic ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110337961/Paytms earnings snapshot May 2024 Graphic ETTECH.jpg)
Management speak:
![Decoding Paytms financial services play Vijay Shekhar Sharma May 2024 Graphic Decoding Paytms financial services play Vijay Shekhar Sharma May 2024 Graphic](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338428/Decoding Paytms financial services play Vijay Shekhar Sharma May 2024 Graphic.jpg)
Know more: Paytm has seen a slowdown in its core businesses – merchant payments and consumer lending, according to its quarterly filings with the stock exchanges. The company has halted its postpaid loan business given "industry asset quality deterioration for small-ticket personal loans.”
More layoffs coming: “Led by capabilities of AI (artificial intelligence) and focussing on core business, we are also working on significant cost efficiencies, including leaner organisation structure,” Sharma said. ET reported last December that Paytm had laid off more than 1,000 employees as part of a cost-cutting exercise.
Nykaa CEO Falguni Nayar
FSN E-Commerce Ventures, which operates beauty and fashion retail brand Nykaa, said its January-March quarter operating revenue had grown 28% to Rs 1,667 crore, while its net profit grew more than fourfold to Rs 9 crore.
By the numbers: For the full year, the firm's operating revenue rose 24% to Rs 6,385 crore, while net profit surged 89% to Rs 39 crore. During the quarter, gross merchandise value (GMV) grew 32% to Rs 3,217 crore. The fashion category now contributes 26% of the total GMV, said managing director and chief executive Falguni Nayar.
FSN E-Commerce Ventures informed the exchanges that it will acquire Nykaa Fashion, a wholly-owned subsidiary, for Rs 133 crore in an internal transfer.
Growth across segments: The beauty and personal care (BPC) segment grew 25% in GMV terms to Rs 8,340 crore, while the fashion segment grew 27% to Rs 3,269 crore. The ‘other’ segment grew 59% to Rs 835 crore.
The overall BPC market in India will be worth $30 billion by 2027, of which $10 billion will come from online BPC, said Nayar.
![OYO withdraws DRHP to refile IPO post refinancing Sources OYO withdraws DRHP to refile IPO post refinancing Sources](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338030/OYO withdraws DRHP to refile IPO post refinancing Sources.jpg)
SoftBank-backed hospitality startup Oyo Hotels and Homes has withdrawn its IPO application. Instead, it is trying to raise private funding in a down round. We first reported in February that Oyo had finalised plans to shelve its IPO and had started tapping private investors for new funding.
Second attempt: This is the second time Oyo is withdrawing its IPO papers. Its first application in 2021 with the stock market regulator was returned in January 2023, following which it filed papers afresh for a significantly smaller offer. Its original plan was to raise $1.2 billion, or around Rs 8,430 crore, but its revised confidential filing was for an IPO that was 40-60% smaller.
Tell me more: Ritesh Agarwal, founder of Oyo, has himself been on investor calls pitching the new round to a group of high net-worth individuals, sources present on the call said. They said Oyo has indicated it may settle for a valuation of around $2.3 billion. This is a drop of over 70% compared to Oyo's peak valuation of $9 billion in 2021 when Microsoft invested in the Gurugram-based firm.
![Oyo IPO the long and winding road Timeline May 2024 Graphic ETTECH Oyo IPO the long and winding road Timeline May 2024 Graphic ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338062/Oyo IPO the long and winding road Timeline May 2024 Graphic ETTECH.jpg)
Jargon buster: A down round is where a company raises new capital at a lower valuation compared with its previous round.
Valuation cuts: SoftBank, Oyo’s largest investor, slashed its value to $2.7 billion in 2022, from $3.4 billion earlier. These valuations were private and not made public by the Japanese investor. SoftBank owns 46% in Oyo, while chief executive Agarwal holds a 33% stake.
![byju raveendran byju raveendran](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338131/byju raveendran.jpg)
A US bankruptcy court said the testimony of Byju's board member Riju Ravindran in litigation relating to the edtech’s $1.2-billion term loan dispute with lenders “lacks all credibility” and imposed penalties on him.
Driving the news: As per a statement from Byju’s lender group, Judge John Dorsey at the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware said Ravindran was not being truthful about the location of term loan proceeds amounting to $533 million. The judge found Ravindran in contempt, saying that he either knows where the money is being hidden and will not say, or did not try to find out the location.
Lenders’ take: “Today’s ruling validates what we have known all along: Riju Ravindran, his brother and cofounder, Byju Raveendran, and their conspirators fraudulently transferred $533 million in loan proceeds for no legitimate purpose other than to hide the money from the lenders to whom it is rightfully owed,” the lender group said.
Sources close to the company dismissed the Delaware court’s order as a pressure tactic by lenders.
Amit Ramani, CEO, Awfis
The initial public offering of Awfis Space Solutions garnered robust interest from investors, with the issue being subscribed 2.02 times by the end of the first day.
Subscription breakdown: The retail segment was particularly active, with subscriptions reaching 6.02 times. Non-institutional investors subscribed 2.76 times, while qualified institutional buyers subscribed 0.30 times, according to stock exchange data.
IPO Details: Awfis plans to raise Rs 128 crore in fresh equity to fund new centres and cover working capital requirements, and up to Rs 471 crore through an offer for sale by the promoter and investors. The promoter’s holding will decrease to 30% from 41.5% after the IPO.
![Awfis shareholding Graphic ETTECH Awfis shareholding Graphic ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338308/Awfis shareholding Graphic ETTECH.jpg)
Upcoming tech IPOs: Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of online travel portal Ixigo, has received clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India on Wednesday to proceed with its IPO.
Ixigo’s IPO plan: Ixigo submitted its initial IPO papers in February. The proposal includes a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 120 crore and an OFS of 66.67 million shares by existing shareholders, such as Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners, and founders Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Ajay Rag in Mumbai and Vaibhavi Khanwalkar in Bengaluru.
Also in the letter:
■ Nykaa profit up fourfold
■ Byju’s vs lenders in US court
■ Awfis IPO gets robust response
Paytm Q4 loss widens to Rs 550 crore; revenue drops 3% on year
![Vijay Shekhar Sharma Vijay Shekhar Sharma](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110337841/Vijay Shekhar Sharma.jpg)
One 97 Communications, which runs digital payments firm Paytm, announced its first quarterly earnings after the country’s central bank imposed a ban of its payments bank on January 31.
Key financials:
- Operating revenue declined 3% year on year to Rs 2,267 crore.
- Net loss expanded threefold to Rs 550 crore compared to the same period last year.
- Paytm’s monthly transacting consumer base shrank 24% to 80 million in April compared to January when the RBI ban was announced.
- The active devices used by merchants including point-of-sale (PoS) and QR code machines, dropped about 1 million.
- It had a cash balance of Rs 8,650 crore as of March 31, down from Rs 8,901 crore as of end-December 2023.
- Paytm expects an Ebitda loss before Esop costs of Rs 500-600 crore in the June quarter.
![Paytms earnings snapshot May 2024 Graphic ETTECH Paytms earnings snapshot May 2024 Graphic ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110337961/Paytms earnings snapshot May 2024 Graphic ETTECH.jpg)
Management speak:
- CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said Paytm is working on significant cost efficiencies, leaner organisation structure.
- Governance and compliance will remain top priorities for the company.
![Decoding Paytms financial services play Vijay Shekhar Sharma May 2024 Graphic Decoding Paytms financial services play Vijay Shekhar Sharma May 2024 Graphic](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338428/Decoding Paytms financial services play Vijay Shekhar Sharma May 2024 Graphic.jpg)
Know more: Paytm has seen a slowdown in its core businesses – merchant payments and consumer lending, according to its quarterly filings with the stock exchanges. The company has halted its postpaid loan business given "industry asset quality deterioration for small-ticket personal loans.”
More layoffs coming: “Led by capabilities of AI (artificial intelligence) and focussing on core business, we are also working on significant cost efficiencies, including leaner organisation structure,” Sharma said. ET reported last December that Paytm had laid off more than 1,000 employees as part of a cost-cutting exercise.
Nykaa Q4 profit rises 187% on year to Rs 9 crore
![Falguni Nayar Nykaa Financial results THUMB ETTECH 3 Falguni Nayar Nykaa Financial results THUMB ETTECH 3](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110337899/Falguni Nayar Nykaa Financial results THUMB ETTECH 3.jpg)
FSN E-Commerce Ventures, which operates beauty and fashion retail brand Nykaa, said its January-March quarter operating revenue had grown 28% to Rs 1,667 crore, while its net profit grew more than fourfold to Rs 9 crore.
By the numbers: For the full year, the firm's operating revenue rose 24% to Rs 6,385 crore, while net profit surged 89% to Rs 39 crore. During the quarter, gross merchandise value (GMV) grew 32% to Rs 3,217 crore. The fashion category now contributes 26% of the total GMV, said managing director and chief executive Falguni Nayar.
FSN E-Commerce Ventures informed the exchanges that it will acquire Nykaa Fashion, a wholly-owned subsidiary, for Rs 133 crore in an internal transfer.
Growth across segments: The beauty and personal care (BPC) segment grew 25% in GMV terms to Rs 8,340 crore, while the fashion segment grew 27% to Rs 3,269 crore. The ‘other’ segment grew 59% to Rs 835 crore.
The overall BPC market in India will be worth $30 billion by 2027, of which $10 billion will come from online BPC, said Nayar.
Oyo withdraws IPO application, opts for private funding at 70% valuation cut
![OYO withdraws DRHP to refile IPO post refinancing Sources OYO withdraws DRHP to refile IPO post refinancing Sources](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338030/OYO withdraws DRHP to refile IPO post refinancing Sources.jpg)
SoftBank-backed hospitality startup Oyo Hotels and Homes has withdrawn its IPO application. Instead, it is trying to raise private funding in a down round. We first reported in February that Oyo had finalised plans to shelve its IPO and had started tapping private investors for new funding.
Second attempt: This is the second time Oyo is withdrawing its IPO papers. Its first application in 2021 with the stock market regulator was returned in January 2023, following which it filed papers afresh for a significantly smaller offer. Its original plan was to raise $1.2 billion, or around Rs 8,430 crore, but its revised confidential filing was for an IPO that was 40-60% smaller.
Tell me more: Ritesh Agarwal, founder of Oyo, has himself been on investor calls pitching the new round to a group of high net-worth individuals, sources present on the call said. They said Oyo has indicated it may settle for a valuation of around $2.3 billion. This is a drop of over 70% compared to Oyo's peak valuation of $9 billion in 2021 when Microsoft invested in the Gurugram-based firm.
![Oyo IPO the long and winding road Timeline May 2024 Graphic ETTECH Oyo IPO the long and winding road Timeline May 2024 Graphic ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338062/Oyo IPO the long and winding road Timeline May 2024 Graphic ETTECH.jpg)
Jargon buster: A down round is where a company raises new capital at a lower valuation compared with its previous round.
Valuation cuts: SoftBank, Oyo’s largest investor, slashed its value to $2.7 billion in 2022, from $3.4 billion earlier. These valuations were private and not made public by the Japanese investor. SoftBank owns 46% in Oyo, while chief executive Agarwal holds a 33% stake.
US court says Riju Ravindran’s testimony ‘lacks credibility’, imposes penalty: Byju’s lender group
![byju raveendran byju raveendran](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338131/byju raveendran.jpg)
A US bankruptcy court said the testimony of Byju's board member Riju Ravindran in litigation relating to the edtech’s $1.2-billion term loan dispute with lenders “lacks all credibility” and imposed penalties on him.
Driving the news: As per a statement from Byju’s lender group, Judge John Dorsey at the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware said Ravindran was not being truthful about the location of term loan proceeds amounting to $533 million. The judge found Ravindran in contempt, saying that he either knows where the money is being hidden and will not say, or did not try to find out the location.
Lenders’ take: “Today’s ruling validates what we have known all along: Riju Ravindran, his brother and cofounder, Byju Raveendran, and their conspirators fraudulently transferred $533 million in loan proceeds for no legitimate purpose other than to hide the money from the lenders to whom it is rightfully owed,” the lender group said.
Sources close to the company dismissed the Delaware court’s order as a pressure tactic by lenders.
Awfis Space Solutions IPO sails through on first day
![Amit Ramani awfis IPO THUMB ETTECH Amit Ramani awfis IPO THUMB ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338224/Amit Ramani awfis IPO THUMB ETTECH.jpg)
The initial public offering of Awfis Space Solutions garnered robust interest from investors, with the issue being subscribed 2.02 times by the end of the first day.
Subscription breakdown: The retail segment was particularly active, with subscriptions reaching 6.02 times. Non-institutional investors subscribed 2.76 times, while qualified institutional buyers subscribed 0.30 times, according to stock exchange data.
IPO Details: Awfis plans to raise Rs 128 crore in fresh equity to fund new centres and cover working capital requirements, and up to Rs 471 crore through an offer for sale by the promoter and investors. The promoter’s holding will decrease to 30% from 41.5% after the IPO.
![Awfis shareholding Graphic ETTECH Awfis shareholding Graphic ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-110338308/Awfis shareholding Graphic ETTECH.jpg)
Upcoming tech IPOs: Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of online travel portal Ixigo, has received clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India on Wednesday to proceed with its IPO.
Ixigo’s IPO plan: Ixigo submitted its initial IPO papers in February. The proposal includes a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 120 crore and an OFS of 66.67 million shares by existing shareholders, such as Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners, and founders Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Ajay Rag in Mumbai and Vaibhavi Khanwalkar in Bengaluru.
Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox?
I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mail
![](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-81268931,quality-100/et-logo.jpg)
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