Wise bolsters investor returns despite profits drop

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Fintech firm Wise has announced plans to buy back more than 500 million dollars (£379 million) of shares to boost investor returns despite posting lower annual profits.

The money transfer and payments firm, which switched its primary listing from London to New York in May, reported an 8% drop in pre-tax profits to 660.4 million dollars (£500.3 million) for the year to March 31, as operating expenses jumped 39% to 1.9 billion dollars (£1.4 billion).

But Wise said net revenues jumped by nearly a fifth, up 19% to 2.5 billion dollars (£1.9 billion), as active customers lifted 21% to 18.9 million over the year.

Wise forecast further revenue growth in the middle of its 15% to 20% target range and profitability around the top end of guidance for the financial year ahead.

It announced a share buy-back programme expected to be more than 500 million dollars (£379 million), of which about 40% will be earmarked for its ongoing employee share trust purchase programme.

Earlier this month it was disclosed that Wise was under investigation by Belgian authorities over money laundering concerns in a lengthy probe reportedly involving more than £400 million worth of transactions.

The group’s stock plummeted by nearly a fifth at one stage on the day after Wise confirmed the prosecutor in Brussels had lodged queries over its business.

Its European business is based in Belgium, from where it serves the rest of Europe and the EU.

In its full-year results, Wise said it set aside legal and regulatory provisions of 23.8 million dollars (£18.03) in 2025-26, up from 17.6 million dollars (£13.3 million) the previous year.

The figures showed Wise’s revenues were boosted by the rise in customers and a 31% leap in cross-border transaction volumes to 243.5 billion dollars (£184.5 million).

Customer holdings grew 40% to 39 billion dollars (£29.6 billon) and card spend grew 37% to 44 billion dollars (£33.3 billion).

The firm has a secondary listing on the London market after switching its primary listing to New York in May to take advantage of a larger stock market and bring on board new investors.

It has grown significantly in recent years, having started as a pure money transfer firm.