Investing.com – Boku (NASDAQ:BOKU) shares rose 1.8% as the company issued a strong FY24 trading update, beating consensus estimates despite foreign exchange market headwinds.
The mobile payments company reported 20% growth in total fixed currency payment volume (TPV), beating the Visible Alpha consensus of 3%. Revenue beat expectations by 13%, increasing 19% in constant currency terms.
Jeffries commented on the results, saying: “Although slightly below our (FX) estimates, we see the results putting Boku on track to meet our 2025 expectations. The stock should be higher on this print.”
Boku's positive performance was attributed to the expansion in monthly active users (MAUs), which rose 33% to 88 million, supported by new account-to-account (A2A) users and digital wallets. Adjusted EBITDA beat expectations by 14%, to approximately $17 million, reflecting a strong margin of 33%. Operating expenses rose modestly by 11%, allowing the company to maintain a strong profitability ratio.
The company concluded 2024 on a strong note, continuing the momentum it achieved in the first half of the year. Growth was mostly driven by local payment methods (LPM), with significant user growth in digital wallets and A2A services.
Despite facing a 400 basis points foreign exchange impact, mainly due to a weaker Japanese yen and a stronger US dollar, Boku was able to secure notable LPM contracts, including with Amazon (NASDAQ:) in Japan and Meta (NASDAQ:) in Nigeria. . These developments are expected to enhance the capabilities of the Boku platform and drive further growth.
In the second half of the year, Poco's revenues rose 19% on a constant currency basis, to more than $52 million, beating expectations by 13%. This increase was driven by approximately 64% growth in local payment method management, while Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) saw a rise of approximately 8%.
The company's TPV for the year grew 23% in constant currency to about $12.4 billion, with total revenue up 24% to more than $99 million. Adjusted EBITDA was approximately $31.5 million, or a 31.7% margin, an improvement from the prior year.
Core cash reserves improved, ending the year at $80 million, up from $75 million at the end of June, including $9 million spent on share buybacks in the second half of the year. For the full year, stock repurchases totaled $10.7 million, or 4.7 million shares.
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