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British money transfer company Wise forecast a weaker than expected outlook for profits on Thursday, sending its shares down more than 20%.
The company also reported an underlying pretax profit of 242 million pounds ($309 million) for its 2024 financial year, beating expectations with an income of 1.2 billion pounds.
However, it predicts underlying income will grow by 15% to 20% this year, down from 31% in the year to end-March, when higher interest rates and customer growth gave it a boost.
Wise’s chief financial officer, Kingley Kemish, said last year’s earnings benefited from efficiency gains that enabled it to cut prices. Without that, expected growth for this year would have been higher, at 20% to 25%, Kemish noted.
“While the announced guidance is disappointing at first glance given the price reduction, however, we think the cuts boost confidence in medium-term growth,” Jefferies analysts said.
Wise’s underlying pretax profit margins are forecast to come in at 13%–16%, which Jefferies analysts said was 19% below the consensus forecast.
Shares in Wise fell as much as 23% to their lowest since late October, before recovering by 10:45 GMT to trade down 15% at 715 pence.
Wise was listed on London’s stock exchange in 2021. Shares opened at 800 pence when it went public.
The company said it moved 118.5 billion pounds around the world for 12.8 million customers last year.
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