Boku has published the full results for the year ending December 31st 2024. The results are broadly in line with the trading update it published in January.
Stuart Neal, CEO of Boku, commented, “These results demonstrate strong organic revenue growth and a higher adjusted EBITDA, which allows us to continue to make strategic investments for our future growth as we scale to become the world’s best-localized payment partner for global commerce.”
Key figures from the results include:
- Total Group revenues increased organically by 20% to $99.3 million
- Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) revenues grew by 11% to $73.3 million
- Revenue from other Local Payment Methods (LPM) increased by 56% to $26.0 million
- Adjusted EBITDA increased by 22% to $31.4 million
- Operating profit of $6.2 million
- Interest income increased to $3.7 million
- Total Group cash increased by 18% to $177.3 million
- Boku’s cash increased by 10% to $80.2 million
While DCB revenues remain the largest revenue generator (76%) and are still growing, LCBs make up 26% (2023 – 20%) and are growing quickly (56%). The firm is growing steadily and is also strengthening its customer base and ecosystem to continue that growth. The firm can now reach over 7 billion customer accounts across more than 70 countries worldwide.
Operations continue to expand to fuel growth
Operationally, Boku has continued to expand to support the revenue growth. It increased monthly active users by 29% to 87.1 million. With an additional 83.1 million users using the platform for the first time in 2024. This was up from 66.1 million in 2023. What isn’t clear is the retention of these new users. Total payment volumes reached $12.4 billion, up 18% from FY 2023. In constant currency terms, that increase rose to 23%.
The Boku network is also growing, with 100 new connections added. The company also completed its first Japanese eCommerce launch, including expanding its relationship with Amazon Japan. On extending the relationship with Amazon, Neal stated, “It’s a hugely valued partnership, and we’d love to do lots more with them in the future.”
It also became the payment partner of BLIK; other new partners include Satispay (Italy), UPI (India) and NIBSS (Nigeria). It has continued to invest in India. In the UK, it received approval to become a PISP and an AISP.
The central bank strategy is assisting the expansion in countries such as Brazil and India, where they want to ensure a more open payment system, enabling new payment providers to enter and break the dominance of the two leading US brands.
Boku also made several senior hires during the year, including its new CFO, Rob Whittick.
Neal, commented, “Boku’s strong financial health and positive momentum reaffirms our position as a leader in Local Payment Methods (LPMs). With robust organic revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth, we continue to invest in capabilities that will drive future business expansion.
“Our deepening partnerships with global tech giants highlight the growing need for them to offer broader payment options to consumers beyond traditional payment cards. By consistently delivering for these merchants at scale with reliability, compliance, and innovation, we have strengthened our role as a key partner in their market expansion. We are excited to be on the path to becoming the world’s best-localised payments partner for global commerce.”
Looking ahead
With new LPM partners and potential wider deals with global giant Amazon, the future looks good for Boku. It reported a positive start to the year with expected revenue growth of 20% following strong trading in the first two months of the year. It will also maintain its EBITDA above 30% and will look to increase that further from FY 2026.
Boku is also profitable, cash generative and sitting on $80 million to fuel further investment in market growth and product innovation. One area of focus is on systems and processes. Neal explained, “If I think about 2025 and some specific deliverables for the year, we want to get to the end of this year and be able to do straight-through processing.
“What do I mean by that? I mean, we want to be able to take a transaction from consumer making a purchase through to merchant getting settled in whatever currency they want without that transaction touching a human hand.”
Neal added, “Once we can do that, we can start throwing more and more volumes at the platform without requiring more headcount. We continue to develop our treasury money movement and FX capabilities.”
The strategy Neal believes will appeal to merchants looking to trade internationally, de-risking FX transactions for consumers and merchants alike.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
It was a very positive review of 2024 and a positive outlook for the year ahead. The share price rose sharply to 169 on the morning of March 18th before settling at 164 at the start of the 19th. However, the price has fluctuated over the last year and is down 10.63% from a year ago.
That fall, is despite beating its revenue guidance. However, (Source: Yahoo), four analysts are recommending buy with the analyst Price targets set at 308.48, so there is room for improvement.
Regardless, Boku seems to be succeeding in most of of its aims. With new leadership in place, growing network and plans for product development. It will be interesting to see what comes next for the payment vendor.
