Revolut invests in future growth as revenue tops $1bn in 2022; expects to hit $2bn in 2023

Virksomheder · 22. december 2023

Revenue increased to $1.1bn (£923m) in 2022, up 45% from $786m (£638m) in 2021
Revolut added almost 10m customers last year with a 71% increase in deposits and 55% increase in customers on paid plans
The business reinvested $265m (£215m) of gross profits for future growth, doubling its headcount and increasing spend on new product launches and global expansion
Revolut expects to hit $2bn (£1.7bn) in revenue and a double digit net profit margin for 2023

Today, Revolut released its Annual Report for the year ending 31 December 2022.

Nik Storonsky, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “2022 was another great year for Revolut, one where we broke away from the pack of our competitors. We strengthened our financial position, grew our customer base, launched multiple new products, expanded into new markets, and bolstered our risk, compliance and governance infrastructure.

Looking ahead, our focus is on continued growth across all our markets. We remain committed to our ongoing UK banking licence application in addition to bringing the Revolut app to new markets and customers around the world. We recently surpassed 35m customers globally, who together make over half a billion transactions a month, as well as launched Revolut 10, our most significant overhaul of the design and layout of the app yet. These are great achievements, but we’re not slowing down, we aim to '10x' this, pushing towards 350m customers and beyond.”

Martin Gilbert, Chairman, added: “In spite of the challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape, 2022 was an excellent year for Revolut. We made significant investments in our products, technology, risk, compliance and governance, while exercising strict cost discipline. This strategy paid off as customers used our products more than ever before, with a 71% increase in deposits and a 55% increase in customers on paid plans.

I am excited and determined to build on our solid foundations and deliver for our stakeholders. We have a huge opportunity in front of us to become a primary financial services provider for customers globally, and our ambition, adaptability and innovation equips us for success in reaching this goal.”

Highlights for the twelve months ending 31 December 2022

Accelerated growth through revenue diversification

Revolut continued to prove the strength of its diversified revenue model with further growth in its Payments, Subscriptions, and Foreign Exchange products as well as increased interest income.

Group revenue grew to over $1.1bn (£923m) in 2022, up 45% from $786m (£638m) in 2021, despite the market-wide drop in retail investing activity in crypto and equity markets in 2022, which Revolut’s Wealth unit had benefited from in 2021;
Revenue from Cards and interchange increased 105% in 2022 to $377m (£306m), from $184m (£149m) in 2021;
Revenue from Subscriptions increased 48% in 2022 to $195m (£158m), from $132m (£107m) in 2021;
Interest income on its assets grew multifold in 2022 to $102m (£83m), from $2.1m (£1.7m) in 2021, driven by increased deposits, interest rate hikes and the build-out of treasury capabilities;
Revolut added a record number of customers last year, welcoming almost 10m new users. Deposits grew 71% year-on-year as customers entrusted Revolut with more of their funds, and transitioned from occasional to everyday users of the app

Doubled down on investing in Revolut's future growth

Amid a market environment dominated by uncertainty and hesitancy, Revolut directed its excess gross profits after operating expenses, $265m (£215m), primarily towards investments in:

Sales and Marketing: The company invested over $148m (£120m) in marketing across its markets to boost peer-to-peer referrals, increase its presence on digital channels as well as launch its largest ad campaign yet in the UK - ‘Your Way In’;
New Products and Global Expansion: Revolut committed over $80m (£65m) to building and launching innovative new products, and now boasts over 50 products across its markets. Revolut also strengthened its workforce and leadership across its expansion markets, laying the foundations for new launch territories in Brazil (May 2023) and New Zealand (July 2023);
Customer Experience: Revolut more than doubled its customer support team, resulting in 90% of customer service queries being picked up within two minutes;

As a result of this investment, Revolut doubled its employee headcount from c.3,000 to c.6,000, all at a time when many other technology companies made mass redundancies and tried to cut costs in 2022.

Balanced fast growth and profitability

2022’s financial results demonstrated Revolut’s commitment to building a sustainable business that balances fast growth and profitability.

Throughout the year Revolut continued to build momentum with quarterly revenue increasing more than 20% QoQ and reaching a 80% gross profit margin level in Q4;
This boost in revenue put Revolut in a position of sustainable profitability, with the company recording $28m (£23m) Adjusted EBITDA for 2022 as well as $7m (£6m) in Net Profit;

2023 and Outlook

Revolut’s momentum continued in the first three quarters of 2023.

Revolut is on track to hit $2bn (£1.7bn) in revenue in 2023 and record a double digit net profit margin by the end of this year;
So far in 2023, Revolut Retail launched products including Joint Accounts, Tap To Pay, Experiences, Car Insurance and others;
Revolut now has over 35m customers, over 8,000 employees and is the most downloaded app in the Finance category in nine countries, and in the top three in 15 countries, in Europe

Ends

NOTES TO EDITORS

Qualified opinion on the financial statements

Revolut’s auditor BDO, confirmed the “matter [relating to the FY21 accounts qualification] has been resolved, and therefore we have been able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence in respect of the relevant balances included in the financial statements as at and for the year ended 31 December 2022. Our opinion is only modified because of the possible effect of this matter on the comparability of the current year’s figures for revenue and related balances and the prior year figures.”
BDO confirmed that the basis for the qualification is “solely in respect of the comparability of the current year’s figures for revenue and related balances with the prior year figures.”
Except for this comparability, Revolut’s financial statements for FY22 “give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s and Parent Company’s affairs as at 31 December 2022 and of its profit for the year then ended.”
Further details can be found on pg.77 of the Annual Report

2022 business highlights

Announced 25m retail customers globally, with a 55% growth in retail customers using a paid plan in 2022 and nearly 50% increase in monthly active customers
Launched Revolut Bank in 30 countries in the EEA, meaning that Revolut is now a bank for the majority of customers. Local IBANs also launched in France (and in Spain, Ireland and Netherlands in 2023)
Launched payment services and remittances for Ukrainian refugees, to ensure that those displaced by Russia’s invasion had quick and easy access to their money, and raised more than £10m to support victims of the war in Ukraine through donations to the Red Cross Ukraine appeal
Granted authorisation by the FCA and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission to offer crypto services across the UK and EEA, respectively.
Granted an Australian Credit Licence
Rebranded Revolut <18, refreshing Revolut’s financial app for everyone aged 6-17
Launched Revolut Chat, an in-app instant messaging feature
Launched Pay Later in Ireland and Poland
Launched commodities and crypto services in Singapore and stock trading in the US and Australia
Launched series of new products and services for Revolut Business customers and the self-employed, including point-of-sale card reader (Revolut Reader), one-click checkout payment (Revolut Pay) and a service targeted at freelancers (Revolut Pro)
Launched our biggest ever advertising campaign: ‘Your Way In’
Launched scholarship to recognise and reward top female students in India (IRA Scholarship)