What to make of Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s profitability promise + CCI puts debt trustees on notice

Why read this story?

Editor's note: Ashwin here. Startup founders and their claims should be taken with a pinch of salt. Especially if it happens to be Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who earlier this week claimed the fintech company would turn profitable at an operational level by September 2023. Separately, the Competition Commission of India is investigating Muthoot Finance’s claim that debt trustees have formed a cartel and jacked up their fees. What CCI decides will impact a Rs 36.12 lakh crore industry. Read on. Paytm’s broken promises “Not again!” a senior analyst at a leading brokerage texted me on Wednesday, with a copy of Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s letter to shareholders promising profitability at an operational level by September 2023.  From the letter:  We are encouraged by our business momentum, scale of monetisation and operating leverage. We expect this to continue, and I believe we should be operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) breakeven in the next six quarters well ahead of estimates by most analysts. For those tracking Paytm—reporters, analysts and private investors—long before it became a publicly listed firm, chief executive …