Wise PLC (LSE:WISE) said it will continue to invest in the business as growth continued to be strong in the final quarter of its financial year and into the start of the next.
In its first set of final results as a London-listed company, the Shoreditch-based payment transfer group, which also offers a debit card and investment products, said it had 4.6mln active customers in the fourth quarter to end-March, up 29% on the prior year and up from 4mln at the end of December.
Set up as a disruptor to the international banking market, the 2011 startup has had a disrupted few months, with its chief financial officer involved in a bad bicycle accident and chief executive and co-founder Kristo Käärmann yesterday revealed to be at risk of being barred from working in financial services as he is investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority for failing to pay tax.
For the whole year to March, the £3.8bn group, which is not listed in the FTSE 350 due to its dual-class share structure, transferred over £76.4bn for customers, 40% more than the year before, helping revenue increase 33% to £559.9mln.
Revenue from personal customers grew 27% and revenue from business customers grew 59%, with 7mln active personal customers (up 24%) served during the year versus 410,000 active business customers (up 34%).
Profit before tax grew 7% to £43.9mln, reversing the decline seen in the first half of the year, while free cash flow increased 9% to £113.3mln, as staff numbers grew to around 3,400 from 2,400 a year ago, lifting admin costs 48% to £321.4mln.
The adjusted EBITDA margin reduced slightly to 22% from 26% due to the investment in staff, products and marketing, with the medium-term outlook reiterated for revenue growth above 20% and an adjusted EBITDA margin at or above 20%.
“With some positive trends from FY22 carrying through to provide a strong start to the next financial year, we expect revenue to grow by between 30% to 35% in FY23,” the company said.
The shares rose 1% to 377p in early trading on Tuesday, where the price is still down almost two thirds from when it floated last July.