Fintech Afterpay Touch has boosted earnings and trimmed its full-year loss after rapid growth in its customer base and sales.
The buy now-pay later service provider's earnings shot up more than five-fold to $33.8 million for the year to June 30, from $6 million the year before as customers numbers grew in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
Afterpay's underlying sales increased almost four times to $2.18 billion while the number of customers using the service rose from 800,000 to 2.3 million.
Adding to momentum for the company, margins on each transaction became more profitable, losses on transactions fell and the average spend by returning customers rose from $700 to $1,100.
About 17,700 retailers are now signed up to the payment system, up from 8,700 in 2016/17, and 800 the year before that.
In May, Afterpay launched in the US and has steadily increased its market presence, with underlying merchant sales lifting from $11.7 million in that month to $20 million in July and 400 merchants now using the service.
The group is now set to expand in the UK - the world's third-largest e-commerce market - with the acquisition of a 90 per cent stake in UK payments service ClearPay.
Afterpay shares were in a trading halt on Thursday as the company completes the acquisition for one million of its shares and also carries out a $108 million capital raising to fund further expansion and debt.
Afterpay shares have soared since the company listed on the ASX in June, 2017 and remain at a record high of $18.55.
AFTERPAY RESULTS AT A GLANCE
* Net loss down six per cent to $9m
* Revenue from ordinary activities $113.9m, up from $22.9m
* No dividend
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