COVID Shopping: Afterpay Sales Up 127%
Afterpay has witnessed substantial growth over the past financial year, with sales accelerating in Q4 FY20 – underlying sales rose 127% that quarter. Over the whole of FY20 sales totalled $11.1 billion, against $5.2 billion in FY19.
This growth was led by the US, where Afterpay’s underlying sales were up 299% in Q4 FY20, compared to 57% growth in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). Now, Afterpay has more active customers in the US (5.6 million), than in ANZ (3.3 million). Afterpay launched in the UK in 2019, and has since gained 1 million active customers.
Afterpay plans to expand further in FY21, with plans to launch in Canada in the next quarter. The company is also exploring a number of small merger and acquisition opportunities to accelerate the roll out across potential new international markets.
To fund these objectives, Afterpay is undertaking a fully underwritten institutional placement to raise $650 million. Alongside this, Afterpay Co-Founders Anthony Eisen and Nicholas Molnar have each agreed to sell 2.05 million shares each, representing 10% of their respective holdings in Afterpay.
Yesterday, Qantas and Afterpay announced a new partnership which will allow Qantas Frequent Flyers to earn Qantas Points with the Buy Now Pay Later platform.
Afterpay’s share price has increased steadily in recent months, and as of today stood at $68.