Pine Labs profit jumps over sixfold as India's digital payments boom lifts demand

Oct 29 : Indian fintech firm Pine Labs reported a more than sixfold jump in second-quarter profit on Thursday, buoyed by rising adoption of digital payment services, sending its shares up nearly 6 per cent.

More than 500 million people use the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in India for transactions ranging from everyday purchases to high-value consumer goods.

Here are some details:

• Consolidated profit rose to 385.7 million rupees ($4.05 million) in the quarter ended September, up from 59.7 million rupees a year earlier

• Revenue from operations rose 24 per cent to 8.06 billion rupees

• The company's digital infrastructure and transaction platform, which is its largest segment by revenue and primarily monetised through subscriptions and transaction fees, posted a 20.8 per cent rise in revenue

• Pine Labs said demand for its payment terminals strengthened in the mid-market segment, where digital checkout points grew 49 per cent year-on-year

• The company said it stands to benefit from the government's proposed framework of 0.4 per cent merchant charge on UPI transactions exceeding 2,000 rupees

• "Pine Labs sits squarely in the window the framework was designed to monetise," it said, adding that nearly two-thirds of its UPI gross transaction value comes from transactions above 2,000 rupees

($1 = 95.2200 Indian rupees)