Wise profit leaps as news of fintech chief’s FCA tax probe settles

Fintech giant Wise today revealed profits hit £371.9m last year on the back of a surge in revenues and customer growth.

The London-listed fintech said gross profit rose 43 per cent on 2021 levels while revenues topped £559.9m, up a third on last year. Customer numbers meanwhile hit 4.6m in the last quarter of 2022 – a 29 per cent jump on the same period last year.

The update marks Wise’s first full year results as a listed firm after it floated on London Stock Exchange to much fanfare last July, in a record direct listing with a market value of £8bn ($11bn).

The results come amid a turbulent period for the firm however, as bosses revealed on Monday that co-founder and chief executive Kristo Kaarmann is under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority, after he was fined by HM Revenue & Customs last year for deliberately defaulting on his taxes.

Kaarmann, who continues to lead the firm while the investigation is ongoing, said Wise had made headway on its expansion plans over the past 12 months.

“We made sound progress on our mission this year, we saw volumes grow 40 per cent year-over-year to £76bn and we helped our 13m customers save what we estimate to be over £1bn in fees,” he said. “But this remains just the beginning for Wise.”

Kaarmann doubled down on guidance for the year ahead, predicting revenue growth above 20 per cent for the medium-term and an adjusted earnings margin of above 20 per cent while the firm continues to invest in growth.

With positive momentum from the year continuing with a “strong start” to the next financial year, Wise said it anticipates revenue to grow by between 30 per cent to 35 per cent in the 2023 financial year. 

Analysts at Barclays said bosses were “surprisingly bullish” today in their guidance for the year ahead.

“Most importantly perhaps, Wise has been far less conservative than we expected on FY23, guiding to 30-35 per cent revenue growth,” James Goodman, Barclays analyst wrote in a note today.

Wise listed in London to much fanfare last year and was regarded as a win in London’s efforts to promote itself as a premier destination for fintech firms to go public. It has mixed fortunes so far however, weathering a hit in the recent tech stock sell off that has rattled markets globally.

Shares in the firm are currently trading 62 per cent below their initial listing price, and are down 10 per cent today following the results.