Wise lifts full-year guidance on strong quarter

Wise lifted its full-year guidance on Tuesday, boosted by a jump in active customers during the third quarter.

Updating on trading, the money transfer specialist said active customers grew 30% year-on-year to 7.5m in the three months to December end. More customers were also using multiple features, it noted.

As a result, third-quarter income jumped 40% to £375.1m, ahead of analyst expectations.

Cross border volume was £30.6bn, up 16% or 18% on a constant currency basis, while revenues rose 23% to £276.6m.

The firm therefore lifted its guidance for income growth in the year to 31 March 2024, to around 42% to 44%. It had previously forecast income growth of around 33% to 38%.

Kristo Kaarmann, co-founder and chief executive, said: "I am pleased to report another quarter of progress as we work towards our mission of building the best way to move and manage the world’s money.

"We’ve sped up global US dollar payments, by optimising payouts with one of our banking partners, and expanded our Wise Interest Asset offering in seven European markets, including France and Spain.

"This progress speaks to the strength of our fundamentals, leading to continued strong financial performance."

As at 1000 GMT, shares in Wise were down 1% at 868.6p.

Jefferies flagged "resilience in customer growth and take rate beat, but continuous slowdown in core total payment volume rate remains key concern". The broker has a ‘hold’ rating on the stock and a price target of 717p.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "Wise shares fell a beat but mainly on net interest income, which is a little lumpy and less reliable. Good figures, but well-priced versus peers."