Klarna losses soar as bosses double down on growth
Swedish buy-now pay-later (BNPL) giant Klarna has reported soaring losses after accelerating its global expansion to add 10 new markets since the start of 2020.
Operating losses at the fintech giant rose to 6.58 billion Swedish crowns (£514.05m), from 1.63 billion crowns in 2020, as the firm prioritised growth across markets.
Klarna bosses said that the US was now driving the overall expansion of the firm.
“One particular strong and important development is the United States. It is our fastest-growing key market and soon to be our largest market,” bosses said in a statement.
Gross merchandise volume (GMV) – the value of transactions made using its payment platform – surged by 42% to $80bn, while credit losses rose to 4.65 billion crowns from 2.53 billion crowns
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and Co-Founder of Klarna said the firm was now serving more than 100m active customers across the world with 99 per cent of its lending repaid.
Siemiatkowski said the firm’s immediate payment option had also now risen to be 40 per cent of total transaction.
Klarna has said it has plans to float at some point in future, with the UK government recently launching a charm offensive on the firm and other fintech giants to tempt them into listing in London.
Klarna bosses met with city minister John Glen last month to discuss the attarctiveness of the capital as a destination for IPOs.