Paytm plans to reach profitability in two years without compromising market share

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Feb 24, 2020

Digital payments and e-commerce business Paytm plans to reach profitability in the next two years, and has now reached the second phase of its three-part growth strategy.

After completing its first phase of growth by finding the right product-market fit, Paytm is now focusing on increasing revenue and monetising its existing customer base, Paytm’s CEO and founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, told the Press Trust of India in an interview.

The business then plans to reach profitability and free cash flows, which it expects to achieve after two years. 

"I would say at least two years [for profitability] because we are also a large dominant market share company and we wouldn't want to lose market share while becoming profitable next quarter," said Sharma, explaining the need to balance working towards profitability and retaining its market share.
 
Paytm believes that its next round of growth will come from financial services, e-commerce, and payments. The business has also announced that its e-commerce platform, which retails a range of goods including fashion and cosmetics, is close to profitability. 
 
The business plans to continue to invest to expand its financial services with around Rs 10,000 crore ($1.4 billion) earmarked for the coming three years.

"Overall, offline merchant expansion and technology is where the investment is happening," Sharma told the Press Trust of India.

The business is working on adding around 10 million merchants in the coming year to year-and-a-half.