Wise has reported a significant increase in profits, buoyed by an expanding customer base and strategic price reductions.
For the six months ending on 30 September, the London-based fintech company announced a pretax profit of £292.5m, marking a substantial 51 per cent rise from the £194.3m recorded in the corresponding period the previous year, as reported by City AM.
Following the announcement, Wise's shares soared by as much as 8.1 per cent in early Wednesday trading, reaching their highest point since June.
The surge in Wise's profits can be attributed to a 25 per cent growth in active customers, now totalling 11.4 million. These customers transacted £68.4bn through the fintech during the six-month span, which is a 19 per cent increase compared to last year.
Wise, known for its current accounts and international money transfer services, generates revenue by charging a modest fee for each transaction.
The company's revenue climbed by 19 per cent to £591.9m over the half-year, while its cost of sales saw a five per cent decrease to £152.9m.
Positioning itself as a challenger to traditional, expensive bank foreign exchange services, Wise boasts more than 65 licences, partnerships with over 90 banks globally, and direct connections to six payment systems.
During this period, Wise highlighted its "limited reliance" on interest income, which nonetheless rose by 49 per cent to £230.2m, driven by higher central bank rates and a 23 per cent increase in average customer balances.
Wise has announced its intention to return 80% of its interest income to customers, although it cannot directly pay interest to British users due to not being a licensed bank in the UK.
The news follows shortly after Wise's CEO, Kristo Kaarmann, was fined £350,000 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for failing to disclose significant tax issues related to a share sale in 2017.
Despite the fine, Kaarmann, who co-founded Wise in 2011 and led its public listing on the London Stock Exchange ten years later, has been cleared by the FCA to continue leading the company.
Wise has seen a three percent dip in its stock price this year, with shares experiencing their largest intraday fall ever in June following warnings of slower income growth for the 2025 financial year due to extensive fee reductions.
However, the company has maintained its financial outlook, projecting a pretax profit margin of 13% to 16% for the second half of the fiscal year, despite a higher margin of 22% in the first half. Wise attributes the expected decrease to investments aimed at reducing prices.
Kristo Kaarmann commented on the company's progress, stating: "Over the last six months, we've made important steps in the enhancement of our infrastructure, which are going to contribute to further improvements to speed and unit cost over time," and added that "Wise will become increasingly faster, cheaper and more convenient an ideal infrastructure partner via Wise Platform."
"To make this vision a reality, now is the time to invest in long term growth."
