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Boku Posts 23% Revenue Jump, Names Ex-Natwest Executive as CFO

Pat Crawley

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2024-07-18T09:56:35.993+02:00

Thursday, 18/07/2024 | 07:56 GMT by Damian Chmiel

Mobile payment solutions provider sees 23% revenue increase.
In addition, it welcomes Rob Whittick as Chief Financial Officer.

Rob Whittick, Boku's Chief Financial Officer — Rob Whittick, Boku’s Chief Financial Officer

Boku Inc. (LON: BOKU) has announced higher revenues for the first half of 2024 and appointed a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as the company continues its expansion in the localized payment methods (LPMs) market.

Mobile Payments Company Reports 23% Revenue Boost

The provider of global mobile payment solutions, reported expected revenues of at least $47.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, marking a 23% increase from $38.2 million in the same period last year. On a constant currency basis, the growth was even more visible at 30%, primarily driven by increasing transaction volumes from existing merchants.

Stuart Neal, Boku's CEO — Stuart Neal, Boku’s CEO

“Boku is targeting the $2.2 trillion market in cross border ecommerce, within which it is predicted that 60% will occur using local payment methods by 2028,” commented Stuart Neal, Boku’s CEO. “Throughout H1 2024, we have continued to make bold steps towards becoming the world’s best network for localised payment methods, including the creation of world leading licensed money movement capabilities, due to complete in H1 2025.”

Neal is the new president of Boku, having taken over the position at the beginning of this year from Jon Prideaux.

The company’s carrier-related revenues, including Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) and Bundling, showed continued resilience with double-digit growth compared to H1 2023. Digital Wallets and Account-to-Account (A2A) revenues saw a significant uptick of over 50%, rising from $7.5 million in H1 2023, demonstrating increasing adoption, including the notable launch of Google on BLIK in Poland.

Boku’s operational metrics also showed strong growth, with Monthly Active Users (MAUs) of the Boku platform reaching 79.6 million in June 2024, a 30% increase from 61.2 million in June 2023. Total Payment Volume (TPV) rose to $5.8 billion in H1 2024, up 17% from $5.0 billion in H1 2023, with an even higher growth of 26% on a constant currency basis.

A few months ago, the company also reported its results for the entire year of 2023, showing a 178% jump in profit and an increase in new customers by more than 66 million. Boku closed the year with a pre-tax profit of $11.4 million. The net profit was at $10.1 million, compared to $4.3 million in the previous year

New CFO Joins Boku

In a separate announcement, Boku revealed the appointment of Rob Whittick as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Whittick, a Chartered Accountant, brings over 25 years of experience from Natwest Group plc, where he held various senior roles, including Finance Director for Commercial and Private Banking.

“He brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge, in particular financial and operational expertise from within a large and complex organization, invaluable as we progress our own scaling journey,” Neal welcomed Whittick to the team.

The move comes after the company’s long-standing CFO, Keith Butcher, announced in early May that he would retire after 40 years of service in the financial industry.

As Boku continues to invest in its core back-end infrastructure throughout 2024 and 2025, the company aims to enable scalable growth over the next five years, preparing for an acceleration in regulated A2A volumes and material increases in cross-border transactions.

“I am excited to be joining Boku at such an important time in the Company’s development,” added Whittick. “I look forward to working closely with Stuart and the team to drive continued growth and innovation, and to contribute to Boku’s ongoing success.”

Mobile Payments Company Reports 23% Revenue Boost

Neal is the new president of Boku, having taken over the position at the beginning of this year from Jon Prideaux.

New CFO Joins Boku

The move comes after the company’s long-standing CFO, Keith Butcher, announced in early May that he would retire after 40 years of service in the financial industry.

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Damian’s adventure with financial markets began at the Cracow University of Economics, where he obtained his MA in finance and accounting. Starting from the retail trader perspective, he collaborated with brokerage houses and financial portals in Poland as an independent editor and content manager. His adventure with Finance Magnates began in 2016, where he is working as a business intelligence analyst.