Paytm’s Sharma blames ‘volatile markets’

Mumbai, April 6 : In a bid to regain shareholders’ confidence amid continuous decline in its share price, digital payments firm PayTm’s Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma on Wednesday blamed “volatile market conditions” for the “significant” drop from the IPO price. In his letter to the shareholders, Sharma exuded confidence in achieving EBITDA break-even in six quarters. The company, which got listed on the exchanges in November last year, had debuted at Rs 1,955 a piece. In the last few months, the price had dropped to as low as Rs 520 per share on the BSE. “Against the backdrop of volatile market conditions for high growth stocks globally, our shares are down significantly from the IPO price. The entire PayTm team is committed to build a large, profitable company and to create long-term shareholder value,” Sharma said. “Aligned with this, my stock grants will be vested to me only when our market cap has crossed the IPO level on a sustained basis.” The shares of PayTm are now trading at Rs 633.5 a piece. Stating that the company was encouraged with the business momentum, scale of monetization and operating leverage, Sharma said: “We expect this to continue, and I believe we should be operating EBITDA break even in next six quarters, by the quarter ending September 2023. Importantly, we are going to achieve this without compromising any of our growth plans.” PSK MR

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