IPO-bound PhonePe's revenue surges 40% in FY25; net loss narrows by 13%

Walmart-backed fintech major PhonePe reported strong topline growth in FY25, even as it worked toward narrowing its losses. The company's operating revenue surged 40.4% year-on-year to ₹7,114.8 crore, compared to ₹5,064.1 crore in FY24, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Aided by this revenue growth, PhonePe narrowed its consolidated net loss by 13.4% to ₹1,727.4 crore in FY25, down from ₹1,996.1 crore a year earlier. Total expenses, however, rose 21.1% to ₹9,394 crore. Payment processing charges jumped 44.7% to ₹1,688.1 crore, while employee benefit expenses increased 13.6% during the period.

The Walmart-backed company also turned free cash flow positive during the year, generating ₹1,202 crore in cash flow from operations.

Adjusted EBITDA (excluding ESOP costs) more than doubled to ₹1,477 crore, up from ₹652 crore in the previous fiscal. Adjusted Profit After Tax (PAT) surged 220% to ₹630 crore, compared to ₹197 crore in FY23-24. For the first time, PhonePe also posted positive Adjusted EBIT (excluding ESOP costs), recording ₹117 crore.

Even as PhonePe has branched into credit distribution, insurance, and stockbroking, payments continue to dominate its revenue.

Services related to payments contributed ₹6,299.7 crore, or about 85% of the topline. Insurance and lending distribution brought in ₹557.6 crore, accounting for nearly 8%. Other offerings, including broking, mutual fund distribution, and marketplace services, added ₹57.2 crore.

PhonePe recently secured final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator. This license is expected to boost its merchant-side business, particularly among small and mid-sized online retailers.

The company underscored its expanding footprint, claiming more than 650 million registered users and a merchant base of 45 million outlets. It processes over 360 million transactions a day, translating into an annualised Total Payment Value (TPV) of more than ₹150 lakh crore.

These results come as PhonePe prepares for a major milestone- the filing of its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) later this year for a listing on Indian stock exchanges.

In an exclusive conversation with CNBC-TV18 earlier in May, PhonePe's CEO Sameer Nigam had said that the company's core payments business has reached a stage of maturity and market leadership, and it is now ready to embrace the accountability and transparency that come with being a listed entity.

"We should hopefully remain stable and be profitable in years to come," Nigam said, adding, "The business and the sector are in a good place." "We knew that we eventually want to list… [and] moved to India with the intent to list," he added.