Klarna Bank AB pared losses in the fourth quarter of the year as more of its growing customer base paid back their debts while the firm’s cost-cutting drive continued.
(Bloomberg) — Klarna Bank AB pared losses in the fourth quarter of the year as more of its growing customer base paid back their debts while the firm’s cost-cutting drive continued.
The Stockholm-based fintech reported a net loss of 1.9 billion Swedish kronor ($182 million) for the three months through December, down from 4.6 billion kronor in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose by about 20% to 5.6 billion kronor.
Klarna, once Europe’s most valuable startup, said credit losses fell compared to a year ago to 1.4 billion kronor, even as the gross merchandise value of its loans rose by about a fifth to 242 billion kronor.
Operating expenses fell year-on-year for the quarter, though over 2022 they rose 35% to 21.5 bilion kronor.
“We have made significant progress on our new strategy with GMV up 22% YoY and losses decreasing, we’re on a solid path towards profitability,” Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in the statement.
The firm offers buy now, pay later credit for 150 million shoppers looking to spread the cost of online purchases. The company was forced to rethink its strategy and diversify into areas such as marketing after an investment round last summer slashed its valuation to $6.7 billion from about $45.6 billion.
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