Wise PLC (LSE:WISE) confirmed it transferred over £51bn in payments for its customers in the first half, which helped drive strong growth in revenue and profits.
Revenue came in at £397.4mln in the six months to 30 September 2022, a rise of 55% on the same period last year, the international payment transfer company said in its interim earnings release that confirmed numbers posted in a trading update last month.
Total income increased by 63% to £416mln, as expected, reflecting strong growth in active customers and increased total volumes, with total income growth also forecast to grow 55%-60% for full-year 2023.
Underlying profit (adjusted EBITDA) leapt 52% to £92mln in the first half, representing a margin of 22%, while pre-tax profit soared 173% to £51.3mln.
The company, which at over £6bn is large enough to qualify for the FTSE 100 but cannot be included due to its standard listing, transferred £51.3bn globally for its customers in the first half of 2022, 49% more than in the same period last year, while the number of active customers grew 41% over the year to 5.5mln in the second quarter.
More than half of all transactions were completed instantly, compared with 39% in the second quarter of last year as new partnerships sped up pay-outs in Hong Kong, Chile and Japan.
Wise said it managed to keep prices low despite higher costs, with the average customer price for the second quarter rising to 0.64% from 0.62%.
"In the first half of this financial year, our payments got faster, hitting a key milestone with 50% of all transfers now instant,“ commented Kristo Käärmann, co-founder and chief executive officer of Wise in the statement.
Looking ahead, the company said it expects a total income compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 20% in the medium term, with the adjusted EBITDA margin at or above 20%.
Shares in Wise fell almost 5% to 603.2p in early trading.