- Buy now, pay later (BNPL) competitor Laybuy (LBY) is continuing to report some stellar growth with record quarterly figures for the December quarter of 2020
- The New Zealand-based stock revealed record growth in all major markets ahead of its upcoming quarterly report, slated to release on January 28
- Actual gross merchant value (GMV), which refers to all purchase made using Laybuy’s service, almost tripled to NZ$182 million (roughly A$$169 million) over the December quarter
- Similar growth was seen across annualised GMV, customer and merchant numbers, and online sales
- Looking ahead, Laybuy is planning to launch its services across the U.S. and add its “Tap and Pay” service to its U.K. offering when COVID-19 restrictions ease
- As with any BNPL stock, however, the one figure missing from today’s report is profit
- Still, investors seemed pleased with the report, with Laybuy shares up almost 9 per cent this afternoon to $1.38 per share
Laybuy (LBY) is continuing to report some stellar growth with record quarterly figures for the December quarter of 2020.
The New Zealand-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) competitor revealed some impressive stats ahead of its upcoming quarterly report, slated for release on January 28.
Record after record
Specifically, the company nearly tripled gross merchandise value (GMV) for the three months to December 31 compared to the same time the year before. GMV here refers to all purchases made by customers using Laybuy’s service.
Over the December quarter of 2020, GMV reached NZ$182 million (roughly A$$169 million) — an increase of 184 per cent on the December 2019 quarter and of 44 per cent on the September 2021 quarter.
This quarterly GMV figure represents annualised GMV of NZ$730 million (around A$677 million), with records set in all markets despite ongoing COVID-19 woes across the globe.
Laybuy Managing Director Gary Rohloff said the company saw “exceptional” GMV growth across all of its existing regions.
“We delivered new records for the number of active customers and merchants,
highest trading day, trading week and trading month driven by key initiatives (including the launch of ‘Tap to Pay’ for in-store purchases in partnership with Mastercard) and record Black Friday and holiday sales,” Gary said.
However, it was sales in the U.K. that played a major role in Laybuy’s surge in growth. Annualised U.K. GMV skyrocketed from NZ$55 million (roughly A$51 million) in the December 2019 quarter to NZ$401 million in the December 2020 quarter — exceeding Australian and New Zealand sales for the first time.
Of course, as can be expected, online sales supported this growth as the U.K. entered more lockdowns in light of a new highly contagious strain of the COVID-19 virus.
As far as customer numbers are concerned, Laybuy added a record 119,000 customers during the December quarter, with the company now servicing 687,000 total customers.
Active merchants reached 8000, increasing by almost 1700 during the quarter.
To top it all off, Laybuy soft-launched its services in the United States through U.K. and Australian and New Zealand merchants, which ship to the States.
What’s next?
Looking ahead, Laybuy said it expects to continue its entry into the U.S. market following last quarter’s soft launch.
At the same time, the company will wait for COVID-19 restrictions in the U.K. to lift to it can launch its ‘Tap and Pay’ service in-store across the jurisdiction.
As with any BNPL company, however, the one figure missing from today’s report is profit; while the company is touting impressive growth, it’s not yet certain how much of this growth translates to cash and at what cost the growth comes.
Nevertheless, investors showed their support for Laybuy today, with LBY shares up 8.63 per cent at 12:56 pm AEDT to $1.38 per share. The company has a $241.63 million market cap.