Metrics raised 1
- Lending disbursal run-rate guidance raised to ₹1,000 crores per quarter (from ~₹700 crores per quarter)
Event Participants
Executives
2 Soham Roy (Associate Director, Corporate Development), Upasana Rupkrishan Taku (Co-Founder, Executive Director, and CFO)
Analysts
6 Ankur Gulati (Genuity Capital), Ankush Agrawal (Surge Capital), Darshil Jhaveri (Crown Capital), Divyansh Jaju (Trinetra Asset Managers), Dixit Doshi (Whitestone Financial Advisors), Rahul Jain (Dolat Capital)
Financials & KPIs
| Metric | Reported | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| PAT | ₹7.6 crores | Most profitable quarter yet; three straight profitable quarters. YoY swing of +₹49.5 crores, QoQ improvement from ~₹4.5 crores. |
| EBITDA | ₹15.8 crores | YoY improvement of ₹47 crores; driven by gross profit growth and 21% YoY reduction in direct costs. |
| Payments Gross Profit | ₹77.7 crores | +31% YoY despite flattish revenue; margin expansion from cost compression (direct costs -15% YoY). |
| Financial Services Gross Profit | ₹43.3 crores | 5.6x YoY growth; supported by 25% improvement in credit quality and writebacks from past book. |
| Contribution Profit | Not disclosed | +66% YoY; driven by combined growth in payments and financial services gross profit. |
| Platform GMV | ₹587 billion | All-time high, +50% YoY; 14th straight quarter of payment GMV growth. UPI GMV at ₹269 billion, Non-UPI at ₹317 billion. |
| Merchant GMV | ₹125 billion | +17% QoQ (from ₹107 billion); early-stage ramp-up of merchant acquiring business. |
| Direct Costs | Not disclosed | -21% YoY overall; -15% in payments, -40% in lending. |
| Lending Disbursals | ~₹700 crores/quarter run-rate | Expected to scale to ₹1,000 crores/quarter; growth from new partners, cross-sell initiatives, and AI-driven funnel optimization. |
| Net Payments Take Rate (Gross Profit) | 12-14 bps guidance | Long-range guidance; current at 13-15 bps range. Merchant business has lower take rate (<10 bps industry norm). |
| Financial Services Net Margin | ~5.8% this quarter | Long-range 4.5%-5.5%; writebacks contributed ~1.87% of gross revenue (₹16-odd crores). |
| Net Cash | ₹437 crores | Includes IPO proceeds earmarked for capex; ₹25-30 crores available for merchant device purchases. |
| Total Debt | ₹320 crores (₹3,204 million) | Short-term working capital facilities from two banks; used exclusively for payment settlement refunding. Long-term loans fully repaid as of Mar 31, 2026. |
Geographic & Segment Commentary
Consumer Payments (Recharge & Bill Payments, Wallet, Card-Linked): Mature business with expected 5-6% quarterly revenue growth. Company paused certain card-linked categories due to regulatory guardrail changes, impacting Q4 and Q1 revenue, with relaunch expected in Q2. Wallet transactions grew 68% YoY but GMV only 24% due to lower ticket sizes from increased "Pocket UPI" usage (wallet-on-UPI), which currently generates no MDR.
Merchant Payments (Zaakpay Online + Offline): Strategic growth priority. Merchant GMV at ₹125 billion in Q1, +17% QoQ. Management guiding for ~25% quarterly revenue growth and 10x revenue ramp in two years. Business expected to turn profitable by FY28; annual burn guided at ₹50-60 crores. Zaakpay (payment gateway) GMV at ₹25.6 billion for the quarter; revenue not disclosed separately.
Lending & Financial Services: Disbursals paused this quarter due to (1) conscious de-concentration of risk (top-3 lender concentration reduced from 91% to 71%), (2) new partner integration, and (3) technology migration for NBFC license. Management expects INR1,000 crores quarterly disbursal run-rate going forward, already at that rate in Q2. New initiatives expected to generate INR300 crores incremental disbursals/quarter. Mix shifting to 40% pure distribution/60% FLDG by year-end (currently 32%/68%).
Company-Specific & Strategic Commentary
NBFC License Progress: In-principle approval received in April; business transfer to wholly owned subsidiary approved by shareholders July 2. Migration expected to complete in August; final certificate of registration to follow. Company "some time away" from disbursing from own NBFC.
Cross-Sell & AI Initiatives: Targeting 96 million non-lending users for pre-approved loan offers, expected to generate ₹150-250 crores incremental disbursals/quarter. Built proprietary AI engine to address loan funnel drop-offs (50% at first screen; 10-20% at other steps), expected to recover ~₹100 crores disbursals/quarter.
UPI Monetization Advocacy: Company pushing for PPI-on-UPI MDR with government; RBI mandated but NPCI has not implemented for 2.5 years. Management expressed frustration at regulatory paralysis. UPI is second fastest growing TPAP (5x industry rate), but no monetization possible until MDR flows.
Cost Discipline: Fixed costs anchored with employee costs expected to rise only 5-15% YoY (₹46 crores to ₹53 crores in Q1), driven by merchant business manpower. Company targeting "each rupee of incremental contribution flows to EBITDA and PAT."
Guidance & Outlook
| Metric | Guidance / Outlook | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| FY27 PAT | ₹40 crores target | Based on Q1 baseline of ₹7.6 crores; management expects ₹3 crores quarterly improvement minimum, or 4x Q1 run-rate. Substantial tax shield (₹900 crores accumulated losses) means no tax payments. |
| FY27 EBITDA | ₹75 crores target | Management "fairly confident"; reiterated from Q4 call guidance. |
| Lending Disbursals | ₹1,000 crores per quarter run-rate | Already achieved in Q2; driven by new partners (9 major currently, 2 added in Q1, more in Q2), AI funnel optimization, and cross-sell initiatives. Potential upside in Q3/Q4. |
| Payments Revenue Growth | 5-6% QoQ consumer; 25% QoQ merchant | Consumer payments mature; merchant business early stage but scaling. Net payments take rate guided at 12-14 bps long-range. |
| Merchant Business | 10x revenue in 2 years; breakeven FY28 | Annual burn not expected to exceed ₹50-60 crores. Capital expenditure covered by existing IPO proceeds (₹25-30 crores available for devices). |
| Financial Services Net Margin | 4.5%-5.5% long-range | Current at 5.8%, includes writeback tailwind that will taper over time. |
Risks & Constraints
| Risk | Context |
|---|---|
| Regulatory Environment | Card-linked categories (rent, education) forced pause in Q4/Q1 due to changing industry guardrails; PPI-on-UPI MDR delayed 2.5 years despite RBI mandate. Management noted "disadvantage of being a fintech company in a very regulated market like India." |
| Revenue Dilution from Mix Shift | Merchant business (lower take rate, <10 bps industry norm) growing at 25% QoQ vs consumer at 5-6%. While profitable, dilution of overall payments take rate is expected long-term. |
| Lending Partner Concentration | Top-3 lender concentration reduced from 91% to 71% but still high; new partner onboarding ongoing to diversify. FLDG business depends on NBFC partner relationships. |
| Writeback Dependence | Financial services margin partially benefited from writebacks (₹16-odd crores, 1.87% of gross revenue). Management cautioned these will taper as new cohorts are priced with lower upfront collateral. |
| UPI Monetization Uncertainty | UPI is 50%+ of GMV with no revenue; competitive positioning (13th in overall UPI stack) means scale doesn't translate to monetization. Only government/NPCI decision can change this. |
Q&A Highlights
Revenue Growth Strategy
- Question: Over last 7-8 quarters revenue growth has been muted; what are key growth drivers going forward? (Divyansh Jaju, Trinetra)
- Answer: Lending business expects to scale disbursals from ~₹700 crores to ₹1,000 crores/quarter via new partners, cross-sell to 96M users (₹150-250 crores incremental), and AI funnel optimization (₹100 crores incremental). Payments revenue is under pressure from UPI mix shift; card-linked categories paused due to regulatory guardrail changes (expected relaunch Q2). Management emphasized focus on gross profit over revenue - "last year on similar revenue of ₹208 crores we generated ₹77 crores gross profit vs ₹59 crores before." (Upasana Taku, Soham Roy)
Payments Take Rate & Merchant Business
- Question: Is 35 bps gross take rate the new norm? Can you provide merchant business details? (Ankur Gulati, Genuity)
- Answer: Yes, gross take rate will trend down as UPI grows; company guides 12-14 bps net payments take rate (gross profit level). Merchant GMV at ₹125 billion (+17% QoQ from ₹107 billion). Merchant is early stage; revenue and metrics not yet disclosed. Management guiding 5-6% quarterly revenue growth for consumer payments and 25% for merchant. 10x revenue ramp target over 2 years. Merchant business breakeven expected FY28 with INR50-60 crores annual burn. (Upasana Taku, Soham Roy)
Lending Disbursal Decline & Growth Path
- Question: Why have disbursals declined for two quarters, and what's the path to recovery? (Dixit Doshi, Whitestone)
- Answer: Two factors - (1) conscious de-concentration of lender risk (top-3 from 91% to 71%), and (2) technology migration for NBFC license requirements (recontracting with all NBFCs, moving tech stack; completion expected August). New partners added (2 in Q1, more in Q2); company already on ₹1,000 crores run-rate in Q2. (Upasana Taku)
FY27 Guidance
- Question: Given Q1 EBITDA ex-other income of ₹8 crores, is ₹75 crores EBITDA still achievable? (Ankur Gulati)
- Answer: "We feel very comfortable and confident." PAT guidance of ₹40 crores assumes 4x Q1 run-rate (₹7.6 crores); improvement of ₹3 crores/quarter minimum. Tax shield of ₹900 crores accumulated losses means no tax payments. (Upasana Taku)
FLDG Mix & NBFC Timeline
- Question: What is distribution vs FLDG mix, and when does own NBFC start lending? (Ankur Gulati)
- Answer: Currently 32% pure distribution / 68% FLDG; targeting 40/60 by year-end. FLDG through 10-15 NBFC partners. NBFC subsidiary transfer on track for August completion; final RBI license to follow; "some time away" from own NBFC disbursals, with update expected next quarter. (Soham Roy, Upasana Taku)
PPI-on-UPI Monetization
- Question: Any thoughts on UPI monetization? (Ankush Agrawal, Surge)
- Answer: "Only the government can decide." RBI mandated PPI-on-UPI MDR but NPCI has delayed 2.5 years. Company and other wallet players have made written representations to government. Wallet-on-UPI cannibalizes revenue previously earned on wallet rails; "I'm as demoralized as I can tell you." Full KYC users creating wallet-on-UPI volume with no MDR. (Upasana Taku)
Key Takeaway
One MobiKwik delivered its most profitable quarter ever in Q1 FY27, with PAT of ₹7.6 crores (up from ~₹4.5 crores QoQ) and EBITDA of ₹15.8 crores, driven by 31% YoY payments gross profit growth, 5.6x financial services gross profit growth, and 21% direct cost compression. Management provided firm FY27 guidance of ₹75 crores EBITDA and ₹40 crores PAT, backed by a zero-tax position from ₹900 crores of accumulated losses. Strategic focus centers on three pillars: scaling merchant payments (₹125 billion GMV, 17% QoQ growth, 10x revenue target in 2 years, breakeven by FY28), revitalizing lending disbursals to ₹1,000 crores/quarter run-rate (already achieved in Q2) through AI-driven funnel optimization and cross-sell to 96 million users, and completing NBFC subsidiary migration for final RBI license. Key watch points include regulatory-driven pressure on card-linked payment categories, UPI monetization uncertainty (PPI-on-UPI MDR delayed 2.5 years), and writeback dependence in financial services margins, though management expressed confidence that new lending partners, product launches, and merchant expansion will drive H2 FY27 acceleration.