The Wisr Ltd (ASX: WZR) share price slipped on Wednesday morning, despite the company announcing a record first-quarter performance.
At market open Wisr shares dropped 3.64% to 26.5 cents. They have since regained some of that loss, at the time of writing down 1.82% to 27 cents.
First quarter highlights
Wisr delivered a record performance across key operating metrics. Some key highlights include:
- Record operating revenue of $12.1 million, up 195% on Q1 2021 and up 25% on Q4 2021
- Record loan originations of $132 million, up 113% on prior corresponding period (pcp)
- Total loan originations of $743 million, up 142% on pcp
- Wisr Financial Wellness Platform surpassed 505,000 profiles, up 70% on pcp
In July, Wisr launched a major national brand campaign – For your smart part – to support its brand redesign.
The campaign was a broadcast and digital sponsor of the Tokyo Olympic Games with Seven West Media Ltd (ASX: SWM).
Metrics post-campaign have shown that Wisr was able to reach an astonishing 16.5M Australians, significantly exceeding expectations and Wisr's expected return on investment.
The company said that the strong campaign helped it achieve the 500,000 profile target a quarter ahead of internal expectations.
The brand campaign drove a big jump in expenses, with a Q1 2022 cash earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of $5.5 million compared to a $1.6 million loss in Q4 2021.
Management commentary
Looking ahead, Wisr CEO Anthony Nantes is optimistic about easing restrictions and what that means for consumer financing.
We expect to see increased demand in the personal finance market as lockdown restrictions start to lift and consumer demand naturally rises in the personal loan categories that had been impacted by COVID-19, creating a strong tailwind for us as we head into 2022.
With two Wisr Warehouse facilities in operation and ready to drive significant, sustained growth, we're in an incredibly strong position to push through our medium-term target of a $1B loan book, accelerate our revenue, path to profitability and operating leverage into H2 and beyond.
Wisr share price snapshot
The Wisr share price has rallied 38% year to date. This is following an impressive growth trajectory of 21 consecutive quarters of revenue growth.
