Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has already confirmed to TT that Klarna is ready for a stock exchange listing. This is partly since the company sold its cashless solution and simultaneously continued to broaden its operations with a transaction account and a cashback tool for Klarna's customers.
It has also been reported in the business press that Klarna is in talks with investors about selling existing shares ahead of the stock exchange listing.
"Very realistic and reasonable"
Several well-informed media outlets have recently pointed to Wall Street and the beginning of 2025 as the plan for the listing. However, there is still no official confirmation of the date and location.
The timeline you're talking about sounds very realistic and reasonable in my world, says Siemiatkowski in an interview with Di.se in connection with Tuesday's report.
In a comment in the interim report, he also highlights that Klarna has established partnerships with over 68,000 new merchants, "which has increased engagement from our consumers and has contributed to fantastic revenue growth of 27 percent during the first half of 2024".
He adds that the payment volume in the Klarna network over the past 12 months has reached "one billion kronor" (1,000 billion kronor).
Turned to adjusted profit
According to the report, Klarna has also made significant progress in the USA during the half-year – a crucial piece of the puzzle in terms of the global presence the company wants to have when the stock is listed on the exchange.
Klarna claims in the interim report that the company is "the preferred partner" for a quarter of the top 100 American merchants and also highlights deepened partnerships with leading American players such as Airbnb, Expedia, and Uber, and a revenue increase in the USA of 38 percent during the first half of the year.
Fintech company Klarna reports a loss before tax of 262 million kronor for the first half of the year. This is a clear improvement compared to the loss of 1.9 billion kronor during the same period a year earlier – although credit losses continue to rise rapidly.
The adjusted operating result – where items not directly related to the company's core business have been cleared away – became a profit of 673 million kronor. This can be compared to a loss of 456 million a year earlier.
The result is strengthened by increased revenues and increased use of AI, which reduces the need for salaried staff.
The "buy now, pay later" revenues during the quarter grew by 27 percent to 13.3 billion kronor from 10.5 billion a year earlier. Interest revenues increased by 11 percent to 2.0 billion, while transaction and service revenues rose 30 percent to 11.2 billion.
