The Laybuy Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY) share price is climbing in early-afternoon trade following the release of a trading update. At the time of writing, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider's shares are trading at 93 cents, up 1%.
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Trading update
Investors are pushing Laybuy shares higher after the company delivered a robust performance for the month of March.
For the month ending 31 March 2021, Laybuy reported annualised (multiplied by 12) gross merchandise value (GMV) of NZ$704 million. In addition, 479 active merchants and 23,000 active customers signed on to Laybuy's platform.
Predominately, the United Kingdom market is the company's largest revenue source, achieving NZ$296 million in annualised GMV for FY21. It's worth noting that this market has significantly grown 504% over the prior corresponding year. The company said its UK merchants, along with strategic partnerships, are driving the rapid growth.
The Australia New Zealand region closely follows with NZ$293 million in annualised GMV for the current financial year.
In total, this reflects an increase of 159% on FY21 GMV to NZ$589 million, slightly above previous forecasts.
Active merchants stood at 9,126 at the end of the period, representing a 75% increase from 31 March 2020. Furthermore, active customers came to 756,000, a surge of 87% over the same time frame.
Laybuy stated that it has funding options and a capital efficient business model to facilitate future growth. The UK retail market has an addressable opportunity of NZ$757 billion, highlighting an attractive pathway.
In addition, the company said that it was well-placed to respond to any regulatory changes in the BNPL sector.
Laybuy share price review
Over the past 12 months, the Laybuy share price has fallen more than 50%, with close to 30% down year-to-date. The company's shares have been trending lower ever since its listing in early September 2020.
Based on the current share price, Laybuy presides a market capitalisation of roughly $163.1 million, with 174.4 million shares outstanding.
