The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price rocketed 29% today after the buy now, pay later company gave an update to the market.
Afterpay's share price had reached as low as $8.90 under a month ago and now it has stormed back to above $28. What a turnaround!
Earlier today my colleague James Mickleboro covered most of the details, but I think it's worth revisiting some of the impressive growth numbers that Afterpay unveiled.
Afterpay highlights
Afterpay said that its strong performance continued across the business. In the year to date it generated $7.3 billion of underlying sales – 105% higher than the prior corresponding period.
Whilst March 2020 was its third best month on record, the second half of March saw global underlying sales decline 4% compared to the first half of March 2020. Looking beneath that 4% number regionally, ANZ underlying sales were 2% lower, US sales were 5% lower and UK sales were 15% lower.
But on the positive side, online sales in March represented 88% of total global underlying sales, and ANZ online sales were up 8% in the second half of March compared to the first half.
Active customers grew by 122% to 8.4 million. UK and UK customers grew by 24% and 30% respectively. The number of merchants increased by 78% to 48,400. Afterpay continues to work towards a Canadian launch and the US in-store launch.
Afterpay's income margins for March and the FY20 year to date are higher than the first half of FY20. The group losses for March are estimated to be 1%, in line with the first half. The net transaction margin of around 2% is broadly in line with the first half.
On the balance sheet side of things Afterpay said it has no requirement to raise capital in the foreseeable future with $541.1 million of cash at the end of March 2020.
Foolish takeaway
Afterpay said that it has adjusted its risk settings and it's well positioned to respond and adapt during this period. The buy now, pay later company should be able to continue to trade strongly during this rough time. However, I find it difficult to come up with a fair price for Afterpay shares when the reporting of a profit seems like a long distance away.
