Paytm Mall posts loss of Rs 13 crore in 7 months

Paytm E-commerce that operates Paytm Mall, the latest entrant in online marketplace, has posted a loss of Rs 13.63 crore between August 2016 and March 2017, according to regulatory filings with the corporate affairs ministry.

Paytm Mall, which was spun off as a separate app earlier this year, logged a total income of Rs 7.34 crore during the same period, the documents showed. The company, however, said that it had recently started its operations and it should not be seen as a loss.

“These are the initial years for Paytm Mall and we have a long-term perspective on building a successful tech business. We will help customers receive the same trusted retail experience synonymous with our brand and act as a technology enabler for the country’s massive offline retailer community. We will 

achieve this with our first-of-its-kind online-to-offline (O2O) model that allows us to ensure a seamless experience across offline and online,” a Paytm Mall spokesperson said.

Paytm E-commerce, which was incorporated on August 16, 2016, took over the online marketplace business of Paytm. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, owns over 12 per cent stake in Paytm Mall. Other shareholders of the company include Chinese internet giant Alibaba and SAIF Partners.

During the period under consideration, the company spent Rs 12.49 crore towards employee benefits, Rs 0.48 crore on finance costs and Rs 0.47 crore as depreciation and amortisation expenses.

Other expenses during the period were at Rs 7.52 crore.