The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price will be on watch today after revealing strong levels of growth in its FY21 half-year result.
What did Zip report?
Zip revealed that it generated record revenue of $160 million, which was growth of 130% year on year. At December 2020 it was generating annualised revenue of at least $480 million.
This revenue growth was made possible thanks to total transaction volume (TTV) growth of 141% year on year to $2.32 billion – this was annualising at $7.5 billion at December 2020.
Zip reported that it made positive cash earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTDA) with cash gross profit margins increasing to 54%. The buy now, pay later company said that it is demonstrating market leading unit economics whilst investing for global growth.
The company said that the addition of Quadpay delivered a step change in unit economics, revenue yield and capital efficiency for the company. Revenue as a percentage of TTV was 6.89%, the gross profit margin as percentage of TTV was 3.71% and the blended book is now recycling every three months on average.
Zip said that it now has more than 5.7 million active customers, which was an increase of 217% year on year. It also has more than 38,500 merchants across the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
The company said that its credit performance continues to deliver market leading results with net bad debts of 1.93% in Australia, demonstrating the strength of Zip's proprietary real-time credit decision technology.
New growth and partnerships
Zip said that it has secured key partnerships with Gamestop, Fanatics, Newegg and Sunglass Hut in the US. It has also partnered with Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN), Domayne and Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) in Australia.
The buy now, pay later business also said that it has launched in the UK in December 2020 with a number of brands including Boohoo, JD Sports, Fanatics and Cotton On with a strong global pipeline building.
Zip said it has now launched 'Tap & Zip' in Australia, becoming a Visa principal issuer. It has enabled a Chrome extension in the US, which enables users to pay later on any website.
It has established a new markets team to explore strategic and opportunistic expansion. During the half, a number of investments were made in the buy now, pay later space across Europe and the Middle East. Canada is currently in the pilot stage and scheduled for a soft launch in the second half of FY21 to support the US merchant base.
Zip business was formally launched after its beta period, with a refreshed brand, signing names like eBay and Facebook as partners. This allows small businesses to buy now, pay later for advertising and working capital.
Zip share price movements
The Zip share price has been shooting higher this year. Since the start of 2021, Zip shares have risen higher by 112%.
Outlook
Zip said that it has global momentum and it has set the foundations to accelerate growth across the world over the rest of FY21. It's looking for new opportunities and strategic partnerships to expand the footprint.
It also said that it has a strong pipeline of global retail partnerships. Zip is going to keep focusing on healthy and sustainable unit economics.
