Revolut Readies 2023 Results in Boost for U.K. Bank License Bid

Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) --Revolut Ltd. is readying its financial results for 2023 after its auditor signed off on the accounts, putting the fintech well ahead of a September statutory deadline to publish the figures. 

The London-based company plans to release the results — which are poised to show bumper increases in both revenue and net income — in the coming days, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information. A spokesman for Revolut declined to comment.

Publishing those results ahead of the statutory deadline is an important win for Revolut, which has spent years trying to get a banking license from U.K. regulators that would allow it to expand its offerings in its home country. Getting its accounts in order has been seen as one of the crucial steps that could pave the way for that license.

It will be the first time in years that Revolut hasn't sought an extension to file its accounts. Last year, the fintech needed a three-month extension to publish its 2022 annual accounts. And the company's 2021 accounts weren't published until March 2023 — several months after the firm's already extended deadline. 

"We've been through a sort of a learning curve" with control-based audits, which are different from previous auditing styles, Chairman Martin Gilbert told Bloomberg News in an interview in December.

Big Increases

Revolut in December said revenue for 2023 was on track to reach $2 billion and Chief Executive Officer Nik Storonsky told a conference in Dubai in May that net income for last year was $350 million. That would all be an improvement from 2022, when Revolut generated revenue of $1.2 billion and notched $5.8 million in profit. 

A license would allow Revolut to offer more loans and even mortgages in its home market, allowing it to benefit from the higher interest rates that have boosted margins at large banks over the past few years. In Europe, the company has been directly supervised by the European Central Bank since the start of this year. 

The firm continues to grow rapidly: Earlier this year, the company said it expects its global workforce to reach 11,500 by the end of 2024, which would be a 40% increase from 2023. The fintech has also hired bankers to help it sell about $500 million worth of existing equity, a move which may value Revolut at more than $40 billion.

That would be up from the $33 billion valuation it last garnered in a 2021 fundraising round.