Mumbai, July 23 -- One97 Communications, Paytm's parent, on Tuesday reported a net profit of Rs.123 crore in the April-June quarter of FY26 (Q1FY26), buoyed by artificial intelligence-led improvements in its cost structure. This turnaround comes after a Rs.539.8 crore loss in the three months through March, driven mainly by a one-time exceptional expense of Rs.492 crore from accelerated Esop cost and an additional Rs.30 crore in other impairments. Excluding these exceptional items, the adjusted loss had stood at Rs.23 crore in Q4FY25. The Noida-based company's first-quarter results, announced in an exchange filing after market hours, mark a recovery from an Rs.840 crore net loss in the June quarter of the previous fiscal year. This is the first time that Paytm has reported profit after its business gained scale. It had reported a small quarterly profit in 2014 when it had just started. Shares of the company settled 3.4% higher at Rs.1,052.60 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday. The company also reported a positive Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of Rs.72 crore in the quarter. Consolidated revenue from operations in Q1FY26 rose 28% year-on-year to Rs.1,918 crore, helped by an increase in merchant subscription and growth in financial services revenue, the company added. Meanwhile, sequentially, the revenue remained almost flat. Paytm earns most of its revenue from payments, financial, and marketing services. Payment services revenue (including other operating revenue) rose 23% y-o-y to Rs.1,110 crore. Net payment revenue increased 38% y-oy to Rs.529 crore due to a rise in payment processing margin and device additions, the company said....