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Revolut greater than doubled its profits to £1bn last 12 months, as Europe’s most precious start-up surpassed 50mn customers and benefited from a surge in cryptocurrency trading.
In an annual report published on Thursday, Revolut said its pre-tax profits had increased from £438mn a 12 months earlier. Revenues rose to £3.1bn, from £1.8bn.
Revolut’s record profits were underpinned by growth in customer numbers, which boosted its two largest sources of revenue: the fees it makes from card payments and the interest it earns on deposit. It said it added almost 15mn latest customers last 12 months.
Founder and chief executive Nik Storonsky said “2024 was a landmark 12 months for Revolut” during which the London-based company secured a banking licence in its home market and a $45bn valuation.
“But we’re just getting began,” he said, adding that the corporate was now targeting 100mn day by day energetic customers across 100 countries.
A surge in crypto trading also helped the fintech last 12 months. Revolut’s wealth business, which comprises stock and digital asset trading, brought in £506mn in revenues — an almost fourfold increase on 2023.
The division lifted Revolut to its first annual profit in 2021 when retail traders were rushing to get a slice of a crypto boom. Nevertheless, the corporate’s revenues from crypto deflated the next 12 months.
Although Revolut has attracted hundreds of thousands of consumers to its sleek mobile app, the fintech still faces a big challenge in convincing them to make use of it for his or her primary checking account. Gathering a critical mass of deposits is an important a part of the corporate’s plan to unlock funding for loans and compete with the biggest retail banks.
Revolut’s total customer balances rose from £18bn to £30bn throughout the 12 months. The corporate — which reported a £979mn loan book that features bank cards and buy now, pay later products — secured a UK banking licence with restrictions in July last 12 months.
The licence, obtained after a protracted three-year process with UK regulators, represented a milestone that may enable Revolut to roll out lending products in its home market. Revolut has said it’s testing mortgages internally.
The corporate can also be in search of to expand its ranks of paying subscribers. Revenue from fees on premium subscription plans, which provide a variety of perks, rose 74 per cent 12 months on 12 months to £423mn. It has also targeted corporate customers, with its business offering now accounting for about 15 per cent of revenues.
