Wise PLC (LSE:WISE) said it now expects annual revenue growth for the current fiscal year to be mid-to-high 20s on a percentage basis.
The international payments fintech, which floated in July of this year, said revenue in the six months to the end of September rose 33% to £256.3mln from £192.2mln in the same period of 2020.
Adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) jumped 20% to £60.6mln from £50.6mln the previous year, but the EBITDA margin eased to 23.6% from 26.3% the previous year.
Profit before tax eased to £18.8mln from the previous year’s £20.0mln.
The fintech said that as a result of the larger-than-anticipated cost savings flowing through into price reductions in the first half, it continues to expect the take rate – total revenue as a proportion of revenue – to be slightly lower in the second half of the current fiscal year and for the gross margin to be around 65%-67% for the whole year, subject to foreign exchange-related costs continuing to remain broadly stable.
“Each quarter we strive to make progress on this mission. Over the first half of this year, we've improved our products and engineered away substantial points of friction in the payments process, enabling us to sustainably lower prices while continuing to invest in growing the business for the long term. So a virtuous circle of investment continues, and our service gets faster, better and cheaper than ever for our personal and business customers,” said Kristo Karmann, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Wise.
“Whilst we have made significant progress, millions of people and businesses continue to be overcharged and poorly served by banks and other payment providers,” Karmann claimed.
Shares in Wise were up 8.4% at 818p.
"Wise’s outlook shows a slightly slower growth than expected, with revenue growth for FY22 estimated at a very respectable mid-to-high 20 percent; however, Wise’s borderless account and fast, low-cost transfers continue to lead the industry with the total take rate reduced by 6bps [basis points; 100 bps = one percentage point] to 0.75% in H1 FY22. The company continues to invest in marketing and building more value for its customers through greater efficiency and passing the resulting scale savings on to customers in a virtuous circle,” said Rob Murphy, the managing director at research house, Edison Group.
"Since Wise’s record-breaking direct listing in July, the company’s growth has slightly decelerated, but its industry-leading product and increasingly strong competitive position should return healthy profit growth in the coming years,” he added.