The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is down more than 5% after the buy now, pay later revealed strong growth in its HY21 result.
Zip is one of the largest buy now, pay later operators on the ASX.
Zip FY21 half-year result
The buy now, pay later company said that it generated record transaction volume (TTV) of $2.32 billion, up 141% compared to the prior corresponding period.
Zip said that its TTV is now annualising at more than $7.5 billion as at December 2020.
This helped the company generate record revenue of $160 million, up 130% compared to the prior corresponding period, which is annualising at $480 million at December 2020.
Zip said that its cash gross profit margin improved to 54% in the half – demonstrating market leading unit economics whilst investing for global growth, according to management. This helped the business deliver positive cash EBTDA in the period.
The business said that the loan book (receivables) increased by 42% year on year to $4.7 billion.
Zip disclosed that it now has more than 5.7 million active customers, up 217% year on year. ANZ customers went up 39% to 2.5 million. That means there are now more US customers than ANZ customers. Merchant numbers increased by 82% to 38,500, there are 30,100 ANZ merchants (up 43%).
The company said that the addition of Quadpay improved the company’s unit economics, revenue yield and capital efficiency of the business. Revenue as a percentage of total transaction value (TTV) was 6.89% and the gross margin as a percentage of TTV was 3.71%.
Zip said that it launched in the UK in December 2020 with a number of marquee brands including Cotton On, Fanatics, JD Sports and Boohoo. It has a strong global pipeline building, according to management.
Some of its latest US partners include Gamestop and Sunglass Hut, whilst Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) and Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) have signed on in Australia.
Credit performance
Zip said that its credit performance continues to deliver market leading results with Australian net bad debts of 1.93%. A bad debt is an account that is more than 180 days delinquent. Whilst the 1.93% figure was an improvement from the 2.24% at 30 June 2020, it was up from 1.68% at December 2019.
Zip comments on BNPL code of practice
The BNPL business said that it welcomes the introduction of Australia’s BNPL industry code of practice, which is effective from next week.
Zip co-founder and chief operating officer Peter Gray said: “Zip has been a key contributor to the code, and we believe it is a strong first step to lifting standards across the industry. Zip will, however, continue to implement our own higher standards, particularly around customer suitability, which we believe superior outcomes for our customers.
“Zip has done ID and credit checks on every customer since inception. As a result, we see 1 in 100 customers late in any month, compared with up to 1 in 6 for credit card users that are paying interest and behind with their debt.”
Summary thoughts
Zip continues to grow at a very fast pace. Initiatives like Tap & Zip, Zip Business and other ideas could increase its TTV much further over time.
The geographical expansion into the UK, Canada, Eastern Europe and the Middle East is also exciting for the long term. It opens up a much larger total addressable market.
Positive cash EBTDA is useful, though I wonder how long it will be before the company generates a net profit at the bottom line. But growth is all that matters at this stage to the market. Zip’s growth will be one to watch over the coming years.
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