BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian digital funds agency Paytm reported a 51.5% rise in fourth-quarter income on Friday, aided by a surge in mortgage development, and posted an working revenue for a second consecutive quarter.

Paytm’s dad or mum, One 97 Communications Ltd, stated income rose to 23.35 billion rupees ($285.80 million) within the January-March quarter, from 15.41 billion rupees a yr earlier.

Operating revenue, which the corporate defines as core revenue earlier than price of worker stock-owning plans, was 2.34 billion rupees, together with 1.82 billion rupees paid for the total yr from a authorities scheme to incentivise UPI funds, in contrast with a lack of 3.68 billion rupees a yr earlier.

That was nonetheless larger than the 310 million rupees within the earlier quarter, which was the SoftBank-backed agency’s first-ever working revenue because it went public in November 2021.

Paytm’s consolidated web loss narrowed to 1.68 billion rupees, from 7.61 billion rupees a yr earlier. Loans distributed via Paytm greater than tripled to 125.54 billion rupees, powering an 183% surge in income in its fast-growing monetary companies enterprise.

Revenue at Paytm’s two greatest divisions, from funds companies to customers and to retailers, rose 12% and 61%, respectively.

Its contribution margin — a measure of income much less cashbacks and costs corresponding to fee processing — rose to 55%, from 35% a yr earlier.

($1 = 81.7000 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin and Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)