Revolut posts over £26 million profit in first full year of profitability

United Kingdom-based challenger bank Revolut has recorded its initial full-year profits as the neo-banking platform expands its products in different jurisdictions. 

The fintech firm registered a profit of £26.3 million ($31.5 million) for the 2021 full year, with its revenue tripling compared to 2020, Revolut’s Annual Report for the year ending 31 December 2021 published on 1 March indicates. 

The neo-bank attributed the performance to active retail customers and a revenue surge across different product lines. Specifically, the bank stated that it recorded a 50% rise in weekly active retail customers and a 10% increase in the average spending of users. 

Revolut further indicated that its revenue for 2021 tripled to £636 million from product offerings such as payments, subscriptions, Revolut Business and foreign exchange, and wealth. In 2020, the bank’s revenue stood at £220 million.

Revolut’s focus on customer growth

According to CEO Nik Storonsky, the results demonstrate Revolut’s ability to expand its customer base on a large scale translating to a revenue boost within its product offerings. 

“We have achieved our first full year of profit and shown that we can accelerate customer growth at scale and grow revenue across all our product lines. In 2021 we were granted a full banking license from the European Central Bank and welcomed millions of new customers. We also launched several new products and saw more activity from our customer base,” Storonsky said.

The performance results came after concerns were raised regarding their delayed release. In this line, Revolut auditor BDO LLP cautioned that they could not independently verify a significant share of the fintech’s revenue.

As per a Reuters report on 1 March, the delay can be attributed to changes within the Revolut accounting systems amid significant regulatory scrutiny. 

Ahead of the 2022 annual report, interest will be on how the crypto market downturn impacted Revolut’s income. The company has recently increased its stake in crypto-related products that have become integral to its earnings. For instance, the bank recently launched crypto staking targeting UK and European Economic Area (EEA) clients.