Financial technology unicorn GoCardless significantly reduced its losses in 2024 and aims to achieve full-year profitability by 2026. The London-based startup, specializing in assisting businesses in collecting recurring payments like subscriptions, disclosed a net loss of £35.1 million ($43.8 million) for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2024. This marked a 55% improvement from the £78 million loss incurred in the previous year.
The company attributed the decrease in operating losses in 2024 to “restructuring activity” undertaken at the conclusion of the fiscal year ending in June 2023. In June 2023, GoCardless announced a 15% reduction in its global workforce, resulting in a 13% decrease in salary expenses to £79.2 million for the company’s 2024 fiscal year. CEO Hiroki Takeuchi emphasized that alongside cost efficiency improvements, revenue growth played a significant role in enhancing the company’s financial performance.
Revenue for GoCardless surged by 41% to £132 million in the full-year 2024, with £91.9 million stemming from customer revenue. The company achieved its first-ever profitable month in March 2024 and aims to attain its first full-year profit within the next 12 to 18 months, a goal Takeuchi believes they are well-positioned to achieve.
Following the acquisition of Nuapay in September, GoCardless is exploring new features, including enabling clients to distribute funds to their customers. Takeuchi mentioned that the company is actively seeking further merger and acquisition opportunities, with a focus on enhancing its service offerings.
GoCardless, with financial backing from Alphabet’s GV, Accel, and BlackRock, was privately valued at $2.1 billion by investors in February 2022. Takeuchi stated that the company currently does not require external capital and has no immediate plans for an initial public offering. Amidst a trend of technology IPOs being at historic lows, some startups are opting for secondary market share sales to provide liquidity to employees and early shareholders. In November, reports surfaced that GoCardless had engaged investment bank Lazard for a $200 million secondary share sale, though the company declined to comment on the matter.
