Earnings Outlook
One97 Comm to post Q3 profit on strong sales vs loss year ago
This story was originally published at 18:48 IST on 28 January 2026
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026
By Suryash Kumar
MUMBAI - One 97 Communications Ltd., Paytm's parent company, is likely to post a strong on-year growth in revenue for the December quarter, driven by a rise in earnings from payment services and financial services, according to brokerages.
The company is expected to post a net profit of INR 2.17 billion for the December quarter, up 3% sequentially, based on the average of estimates from four brokerages. Paytm had posted a loss of INR 2.09 billion in the year-ago quarter, with its revenue declining nearly 36% on year.
The highest estimate for Paytm's December quarter net profit is INR 2.44 billion by Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd., while the lowest estimate of INR 1.64 billion is by YES Securities (India) Ltd. Strong operating performance and favourable effective tax rate is likely to boost the December quarter net profit, Dolat Capital said.
The financial technology company is likely to post net sales of INR 21.89 billion for the December quarter, based on the average of estimates from four brokerages. If realised, this would translate to a rise of nearly 20% on year and 6% sequentially. The highest estimate for Paytm's December quarter net sales is INR 22.25 billion by JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd., while the lowest estimate of INR 21.31 billion is by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
The payment business and financial services are expected to help revenue grow 6% sequentially for the December quarter on the back of festive season demand, according to brokerages. In the year-ago quarter, revenue from payment and financial services, and financial services and others was INR 15.05 billion and INR 5.02 billion, respectively.
Payment services allow consumers and merchants to send and receive payments both online and in-store, and financial services refer to digital distribution of credit, insurance, mutual funds and equity broking for consumers and merchants. The company is likely to post a robust growth in its earnings before interest and tax, driven by operating leverage, with an EBIT of INR 70 million expected for the December quarter, up 74.1% sequentially, Dolat Capital said. Total expenses for the December quarter are expected to grow 5.6% sequentially, compared with a 2% rise in the September quarter, according to YES Securities.
The company is likely to post an improved earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin due to flat fixed cost ensuring strong operating leverage. The EBITDA margin will expand 80 basis points in Oct-Dec, according to JM Financial. Its EBITDA margin in the September quarter was 7%.
Shares of the company ended Wednesday at INR 1,177 on the National Stock Exchange, up nearly 3%. Shares of the company are down over 12% since it reported its September quarter earnings. The company will announce its Oct-Dec earnings on Thursday.
Six of the seven research reports on the company available with Informist have a 'buy' recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 1,607. This is nearly 37% higher than the current market price. One brokerage has a 'hold' recommendation.
Following are the Oct-Dec earnings estimates for One 97 Communications from four brokerages in descending order of the estimate of net profit in INR billion:
|
Respondent |
Net sales |
Net profit |
|
Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd. |
22.10 |
2.44 |
|
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. |
21.31 |
2.36 |
|
JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd. |
22.25 |
2.24 |
|
YES Securities (India) Ltd. |
21.87 |
1.64 |
|
Average |
21.89 |
2.17 |
End
Edited by Tanima Banerjee
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