British fintech star Revolut has finally published its accounts for the 2021 financial year, following two consecutive postponements, even beyond the legal limits. The fintech has been fighting for months with the British regulator Financial Reporting Council over its accounting procedures, in particular on foreign exchange activities and on cryptocurrencies, two activities that weigh heavily in income. According to Revolut, everything is now back to normal.
And above all, despite a year 2021 still hampered by the restrictions on movement linked to Covid-19, Revolut has posted the first profit since its creation in 2015, with an operating result of 60 million pounds sterling and a net profit of 26 .3 million (compared to a loss of £223 million in 2020).
The fintech has surfed the digital wave with nearly five million new customers in 2021 and the number of paid service users up 75%. In total, revenues in 2021 amount to £636 million, three times more than the previous year.
For 2022, Revolut expects its revenue to rise more than 30% to £850m, despite the tremors that have hit the cryptocurrency market, which now weighs a third of its revenue. On the other hand, the fintech gave no indication of its profitability in 2022.
No fundraising planned to date
The company, valued at some $33 billion when it last raised money in June 2021, is unlisted and therefore not required to provide detailed financial statements every quarter or half. For the time being, Revolut excludes any new fundraising from investors, let alone an upcoming IPO.
Still, Revolut’s announcement stands out somewhat in a fintech landscape shaken by layoff plans and a collapse in valuations. Thus, the Swedish fintech Klarna, specializing in split payment, announced a loss of one billion dollars in 2022 and saw its valuation fall by 85% during its last funding round.
Revolut has a banking license in the European Union but not yet in the UK. The delay in the publication of the accounts has probably not helped, but the British press also highlights problems of compliance and also of corporate culture, considered to be very aggressive, causing the departure of many executives.
« Super app »
The fintech became known for its money transfer services, via multi-currency accounts, before diversifying into banking or cryptocurrency transaction services. Above all, it wants to transform its mobile application into a “super-app”, that is to say aggregate around its mobile banking platform a multitude of services. Its homepage already offers a vast catalog, from payment to insurance, including travel, savings, credit and even instant messaging.
Like its main competitor Wise, Revolut quickly became known internationally, particularly in the United States, with more than 500,000 customers, its new priority market. Fintech is also present in key emerging countries such as Brazil, Mexico or India, and in 18 European countries. Today, Revolut boasts 27 million customers worldwide, “more than double the start of 2021”says the company.