Afterpay still growing amid virus crisis

Vinson

Afterpay says it is still seeing strong growth amid the coronavirus crisis and has no need to raise more money in the foreseeable future.

With $541.1 million in cash on hand and $719.2 million in total liquidity as of March 31, the buy now, pay later giant says “downside scenario modelling suggests the group is adequately capitalised to support operations for multiple years based on its current cash flow, balance sheet and liquidity position”.

It had $2.6 billion in underlying sales in the third quarter, almost double the number from a year ago.

Its US performance was “particularly strong”, with underlying sales in line with the second quarter despite the seasonally softer retail market, Afterpay said.

“At this point is time, it is difficult to identify any sustained trends, in any of our regions, as a result of the impacts from COVID-19,” Afterpay said.

There was a rise in hardship claims in mid-March in relation to its instalment payment plans but those are trending down and overall levels remain manageable.

Afterpay Day on March 19-20 showed a marked increase in daily underlying sales, the company said.

Online sales in March represented 88 per cent of total global underlying sales.

It is still targeting entry into Canada this calendar year as well as launching in-store in the United States.

As of March 31, Afterpay had 8.4 million customers, up 122 per cent from the same time last year.

It had 3.2 million customers in Australia and New Zealand, 4.4 million in the United States, and 800,000 in the UK.

It had 48,400 active merchants, up 78 per cent from March 31, 2019.

At 1037 AEDT, Afterpay shares were up 11.6 per cent to $24.56.

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