Pine Labs’ Q4 Show, Paytm’s Europe Play & More

Pine Labs’ Profit Run

Pine Labs scored its maiden full-year of profitability in FY26, anchored by a lucrative Q4 bottom line. Driven by growing revenues, domestic contracts, fresh launches and an aggressive global push, the fintech giant thrived despite West Asia headwinds. 

Here is a quick snapshot of Pine Labs’ Q4 FY26 numbers:

• Net profit stood at ₹59.4 Cr versus a loss of ₹28.9 Cr in Q4 FY25
• Operating revenue rose 14.7% YoY to ₹700.5 Cr
• Adjusted EBITDA improved 73% YoY to ₹146 Cr
• Total expenses shot up a marginal 8% YoY to ₹681.9 Cr

Solidly In The Black: This quarter highlighted that Pine Labs is beginning to convert scale into earnings. Profitability improved meaningfully, helped by stronger execution across its core platform, better operating leverage and a growing issuing and acquiring vertical. Securing multi-year contracts with India’s leading oil companies also came in handy, reinforcing its dominant position in offline commerce. 

Going Beyond Payments: Pine Labs is also pushing further into distribution, gift cards, prepaid integrations and B2B payments while also adding more enterprise customers overseas. Internationally, the company also expanded its presence to 22 countries, onboarding enterprise clients like Philippine Airlines and Darden Restaurants while expanding its Southeast Asian distribution network.

Friction Ahead? Nevertheless, there are headwinds to watch. In its investor presentation, Pine Labs highlighted that the conflict in West Asia compressed transaction volumes across its airlines business and stalled product deployments within the UAE banking ecosystem. 

Going forward, the company remains confident of sustaining revenue growth in the 21-23.5% range over the next few years on the back of new launches and partnerships. As Pine Labs enters a more mature phase, here is how Pine Labs fared on the financial front in Q4… 

From The Editor’s Desk

Paytm Fuels Europe Play 

• The listed fintech major plans to invest around ₹100 Cr in its European subsidiary to expand its global footprint. The company expects to complete the transaction by June 30. 
• Paytm Europe, based in Luxembourg, was incorporated in January this year, and is yet to commence business operations. Following this, Paytm also roped in Nasir Zubairi to lead its European entity.
• This comes as Paytm has been aggressively expanding in countries like the UAE, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. Earlier, it acquired a 25% stake in Brazil-based embedded finance startup Dinie and had also announced plans to enter Indonesia as well. 

Pronto’s Contentious AI Pilot 

• The quick service startup has come under scrutiny for recording videos inside customers’ homes as part of a pilot linked to physical AI and robotics systems. The startup’s service professionals were seen wearing outward-facing cameras while carrying out their tasks. 
• While Pronto confirmed the pilot, it stressed that the pilot was “strictly opt-in,” enabled only when customers choose the feature during booking. Further, the startup mentioned that the feature is currently limited to less than 0.01% of users. 
• However, critics quickly flagged wider concerns around privacy, consent and potential household surveillance. Meanwhile, the IT ministry has taken cognisance of the matter and is examining the concerns.

Awfis’ Q4 Profit Soars

• The coworking space provider’s net profit zoomed 107% YoY to ₹23.2 Cr in Q4 FY26 on the back of operating rising 21% YoY to ₹410.1 Cr. Meanwhile, total expenses for the quarter under review jumped 17% YoY to 405.6 Cr.
• For the full FY26, Awfis’ net profit rose a marginal 4.2% YoY to ₹70.8 Cr, while the top line jumped 24% YoY to ₹1,493.5 Cr. Awfis also added 41 new centres and 30,000 seats during the fiscal, expanding its signed network to 266 centres with 1.84 Lakh seats.
• Alongside its financials, the company also announced that it has finalised a term loan agreement with IDFC First Bank for a sum of ₹75 Cr, with an overdraft facility of ₹5 Cr. This will be utilised to fund new capital expenditure requirements of the company.

Kriti Sanon Backs GIVA

• The D2C jewellery brand has roped in the Bollywood actor as its brand ambassador and investor. There was no clarity on the capital invested by Sanon. 
• Founded in 2019, GIVA sells a range of fine silver, gold and lab-grown diamond jewellery. It also sells watch charms, perfumes and personalised jewellery. It currently claims to cater to over 2 Mn customers across over 55 cities via its 350+ stores.
• This follows the D2C brand raising ₹530 Cr in a funding round led by Creaegis last year. On the financial front, GIVA’s consolidated net loss widened 23% YoY to ₹72.3 Cr in FY25, while operating revenue surged over 89% YoY to ₹518 Cr. 

Yes Madam Bags $5.2 Mn

• The at-home salon startup has raised ₹50 Cr in its maiden institutional round from Info Edge Growth Fund to expand its footprint, enhance its tech stack, deepen partner network, and improve customer experience.
• Founded in 2016, Yes Madam provides at-home salon and spa services for both male and female customers. With a network of over 12,000 partner providers, the startup claims to be present in 55 cities and has completed over 65 Lakh bookings to date. 
• The fundraise comes amid growing competitive intensity in the home services space. Besides incumbents like Urban Company, it also locks horns with emerging rivals like GetLook, Swagmee, GlamCode and BilluCare.

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

How Clarity Labs Is Making Simpler Skincare For Daily Use

India’s beauty market is crowded with formulas and products that don’t always suit local needs or climate. Many consumers now want skincare that is simple, effective and easy to use daily. Clarity Labs is trying to meet this demand with a focused personal care play.

The BAR Strategy: Founded in 2025, Clarity Labs focuses on simplifying skincare for everyday use. Its flagship launch, The BAR, is a functional soap range designed for specific everyday concerns. Priced at ₹350 to ₹450 for a pack of four, the soaps target use cases such as acne, tanning and muscle fatigue, giving the brand a clear utility-led identity.

Focused Skincare: Instead of launching a large catalogue, the startup is building strength in a few high-intent categories before expanding its product stack. Clarity Labs uses customer feedback and structured product testing to refine its formulations and improve repeatability. The near-term plan is to expand the soap portfolio with new variants and formats before moving into adjacent categories like hair wash, body wash and face wash.

Eye On The Prize: Clarity Labs sells its offerings via its own website and marketplaces, which helps it reach both digital-first shoppers and value-conscious consumers who want practical products without committing to complex routines. It is eyeing a piece of the growing Indian beauty and personal care (BPC) market, which is projected to become a $28 Bn+ opportunity by 2030. 

So, can Clarity Labs’ functional products power India’s personal care revolution?

Infographic Of The Day

India’s newest fund managers didn’t come out of nowhere. They built the proof first by picking winners for someone else. So, which fund managers have given VC firms’ their biggest wins?

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