Shares of One 97 Communications fell by over 5%, dropping to a low of Rs 351.70 in early trade on Monday.
This decline followed the announcement of the resignation of Bhavesh Gupta, who served as the COO and President of Paytm. The company’s Board of Directors acknowledged Gupta’s resignation, which will be effective from the close of business hours on May 31, 2024 in a filing to the stock exchages.
“The Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on May 04, 2024, took note of the resignation tendered by Mr. Bhavesh Gupta, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company (‘Senior Management Personnel’) vide his letter dated May 04, 2024. His resignation has been accepted by the company and he will be relieved from the services w.e.f. close of business hours on May 31, 2024,” said the filing.
Gupta cited personal reasons for taking a career break and expressed confidence in Paytm’s future.
“I look forward to supporting Paytm in an advisory role. I am confident of Paytm reaching new heights given the depth of leadership in payments and financial services that has been built over the past few years,” said Gupta.
This news comes amid other recent departures within Paytm. Surinder Chawla, Managing Director and CEO of Paytm Payments Bank Limited, also resigned last month citing personal reasons and a desire to pursue better career prospects, with his last working day set for June 26.
Paytm Money, the wealth management arm of One 97 Communications Ltd, recently appointed Rakesh Singh as its new chief executive, replacing Varun Sridhar, who was moved to the role of CEO of Paytm Services Private Limited.
The company has highlighted its efforts to strengthen its leadership team.
“Paytm’s payment and credit businesses are led by Chief Operating Officers and Chief Business Officers, each with over five years of experience at Paytm and 20-26 years of total work experience in relevant industries. This seasoned leadership team will now work directly with Paytm’s CEO and other senior management. The Company has been focusing on strengthening the roles of its next line of leaders and robust succession planning,” said Paytm.
Bank of America (BofA) recently restarted coverage on One 97 Communications with an ‘Underperform’ rating and a target price of Rs 400.
The brokerage highlighted strong competition in the payments sector for Paytm and expects the company to report weak fourth-quarter earnings, partly due to actions by the Reserve Bank of India.