Ross Tomei
Klarna (KLAR), the company that offers installment payment plans at checkout, posted an adjusted operating profit of SEK 0.7B in the first half of 2024 compared with -SEK 0.5B in H1 2023, the closely held company said on Tuesday.
In Q2 2024, Klarna broke even on a net income basis “as we continue to improve our operating leverage while compounding growth,” wrote CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski in his letter to shareholders.
Total revenue increased 27% Y/Y to SEK 13.3B, while gross profit climbed 22% Y/Y to SEK 6.3B. Revenue take rate improved to 2.54% in H1 2024 vs. 2.33% in H1 2023.
The benefits of AI are helping to boost its performance. “Our AI assistant now performs the work of 700 employees, reducing the average resolution time from 11 minutes to just 2, while maintaining the same customer satisfaction scores as human agents,” Siemiatkowski said.
Klarna’s (KLAR) gross merchandise volume increased 16% Y/Y to SEK 523B.
Commission income climbed by 31% to SEK 10.2B, driven by an increase in global merchants, now topping 575K, and growing consumer engagement.
Interest income grew 23% Y/Y to SEK 2.8B. Net interest income of SEK 668M in H1 2024 dropped from SEK 1.22B in H1 2023.
Net credit losses of SEK 2.39B jumped from SEK 1.75B in the year-ago period.
Loans to the public rose to SEK 89.9B at June 30, 2024, from SEK 86.1B at Dec. 31, 2023.
“We are confident in Klarna’s ability to sustain continuous profitable growth, driven by the compounding effect of the Klarna network,” said Chief Financial Officer Niclas Neglén.
