Digital payment firm PhonePe has announced that the company is starting preparatory steps for its potential IPO and plans to list on Indian exchanges.
The company joins the IPO bandwagon as many new-age firms, including Zepto, Lenskart and others, are targetting to list on India bourses.
“This marks a significant milestone for the company, which will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this year, and has grown to serve hundreds of millions of customers with innovative financial services and technology solutions. PhonePe has long aspired to be a public company in India, having been founded here and being a leader in India’s fintech industry,” said the company in its statement.
Domicile shift and financials
In December 2022, PhonePe redomiciled from Singapore to India, and coughed up almost ₹8,000 crore in taxes .
Walmart-backed PhonePe narrowed its net loss by 29 per cent in FY24 to ₹1,996 crore from ₹2,795 crore in FY23. The improved financial performance was backed by a 74 per cent growth in operating revenue to ₹5,064 crore in FY24, from ₹2,914 crore a year ago.
The company had posted an adjusted net profit of ₹197 crore in the last financial year, excluding costs towards employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), highlighting that its core operational business has started to turn profitable.
Total expenses rose 31 per cent to ₹7,756 crore in FY24. This was largely due to a 16 per cent increase in employee expenses at ₹3,603 crore. The payment processing charges — the cost payment firms have to bear for settling digital transactions with banks — surged 75 per cent to ₹1,166 crore last fiscal.
