Investing.com -- Shares of Boku (NASDAQ:BOKU) climbed 1.8% as the company released a strong FY24 trading update, surpassing consensus estimates despite foreign exchange headwinds.
The mobile payments company reported a 20% growth in constant currency total payment volume (TPV), beating the Visible Alpha consensus by 3%. Revenue exceeded expectations with a 13% beat, achieving a 19% increase in constant currency terms.
Jefferies commented on the results, stating, "While a touch below our estimates (on FX), we see the results putting Boku on track to meet our 2025 expectations. The stock should be up on this print."
Boku's positive performance was attributed to the expansion of monthly active users (MAUs), which soared 33% to 88 million, fueled by new users in Account-to-Account (A2A) and digital wallets. Adjusted EBITDA outperformed forecasts by 14%, reaching approximately $17 million, reflecting a robust 33% margin. Operating expenses grew modestly by 11%, allowing the company to maintain a strong profitability ratio.
The company concluded 2024 on a robust note, continuing the momentum from the first half of the year. Growth was predominantly driven by Local Payment Methods (LPM), with significant user growth in digital wallets and A2A services.
Despite facing a 400 basis point foreign exchange impact, primarily due to the weakening Japanese yen and the strengthening US dollar, Boku managed to secure notable LPM contracts, including with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) in Japan and Meta (NASDAQ:META) in Nigeria. These developments are expected to enhance Boku's platform capabilities and drive further growth.
In the second half of the year, Boku's revenues grew 19% on a constant currency basis, reaching over $52 million and beating consensus by 13%. This increase was propelled by a circa 64% growth in LPM, while Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) saw an approximate 8% rise.
The company's TPV for the year grew by 23% in constant currency to about $12.4 billion, with total revenue up 24% to over $99 million. Adjusted EBITDA stood at approximately $31.5 million, or a 31.7% margin, an improvement from the previous year.
Core cash reserves improved, ending the year at $80 million, up from $75 million at the end of June, including $9 million spent on share buybacks in the second half of the year. For the full year, share buybacks totaled $10.7 million, or 4.7 million shares.
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