Wise Plc Share News (WISE)

(Sharecast News) - Fintech Wise said trading was in line with expectations on Tuesday, as it provided its first update as a public company.


The cross border payments specialist said first-quarter revenues had come in at £123.5m, up 43% on the same period a year previously, in line with internal expectations.

Personal customers grew by 28% year-on-year, to 3.4m, while business customers increased by 56%.

Volume growth outpaced revenue growth, however, with volumes rising 54% to £16.4bn.

"Growth in revenue was outpaced by volume growth as certain higher-priced routes returned to longer-term average levels of activity and a lower proportion of overall volumes," Wise said. "This is reflected in the 6bps reduction in the take rate."

Quarter-on-quarter, the number of active personal customers using Wise grew by 3% while volumes and revenues were ahead 5% and 6% respectively.

Looking ahead, Wise noted: "We are pleased to have started the 2022 full year in line with our expectations, and expect to continue in line with our forward guidance, including for revenue growth of low-to-mid 20s on a percentage basis in 2022."

Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, joined the London market earlier this month in a direct listing.

Unlike a more traditional initial public offering, under a direct listing there is no public offer of existing or new class A shares at the time of admission. It means no pre-determined price or price range is set, nor are investment banks required to underwrite the offering.

The firm also opted for a dual-class share structure, allowing its founders - chairman Taavet Hinrikus and chief executive Kristo Kaarmann - to retain effective control through enhanced voting rights.

Karmann said: "Wise's mission is to make moving and managing money across borders faster, easier, cheaper and more transparent. In the first quarter of this financial year we continued to take important steps towards this goal while also successfully listing Wise on the London Stock Exchange."

As at 1245 BST the shares, which finished their debut session on 7 July at 880p, were largely flat at 942.89p.