Wise reports a 234% surge in pre-tax profits with a 34% increase in active customers

Wise, an international payments company, has reported a surge in its annual profits. Higher interest rates and an increase in its active customers are largely behind the upbeat numbers. In the new financial year, it expects customer growth to remain at the core of its growth as a business.

Wise’s preliminary results

The filing released on Tuesday by Wise saw significant growth in all the crucial financial metrics including EBITDA, profits, revenue, and active customers. According to its CEO, Kristo Kaarmann, the positive financials are due to “continued momentum in customer growth combined with some specific tailwinds from interest”.

For the financial year ending on 31st March, the firm reported a surge in pre-tax profits by 234% from £43.9 million in the previous year. At the same time, its underlying earnings rose by 97% to £238.6 million.

Besides, it had its income rise by 73% as several central banks across the globe hiked interest rates. Compared to the reported loss of £2.8 million in the previous year, its net interest income surged to £118.1 million.

With regard to its customer base, its active customers rose by 34% to 10 million. This equates to 4.5 million new customers; growth that had saw international transactions of £105 billion, up by 37% YoY. While it expects the number of active customers to increase further in its current financial year, it acknowledges that income growth will decline.

Even so, the payments giant has noted that transaction volumes per customer dropped in its financial year’s last quarter; a trend that may continue for a while longer. The company attributes this to a slowing economy. While acknowledging this issue, ongoing CFO, Matt Briers stated, “As we pass through 2023-2024, it will be important to keep in view that we will belapping some unusual trends from 2022-2023. ”