Block has declared a gross profit of $US1.29 billion in the first quarter, reflecting a 26 per cent boost in gross profit from Cash App to US$624 million and a 41 per cent lift in Square gross profit to US$661 million.
In its first quarter financials on Thursday, Block reported transaction, loan, and consumer receivables losses of US$91 million, up a hefty 347 per cent year-over-year primarily from losses related to Afterpay.
Afterpay did, however, contribute US$92 million of gross profit in the months of February and March, with US$46 million of gross profit recognised in each of Cash App and Square.
Excluding Afterpay, gross profit was US$1.2 billion, up 25 per cent year-over-year.
On the bottom line, Block record a net loss of US$204 million on Afterpay expenses and bitcoin losses, compared to a profit of US$39 million in the comparable period last year.
The company completed its acquisition of Afterpay on 31 January.
Earlier this year, Block confirmed its goal to enable Square sellers of all sizes to offer BNPL at checkout, offer Afterpay consumers the ability to manage their installment payments directly in Cash App, and give Cash App customers the ability to discover sellers and BNPL offers directly within the app.
“United by our shared purpose of economic empowerment, we are excited to welcome the Afterpay team to Block and help make the financial system more fair and inclusive as we build together,” the digital payments company said at the time.
Addressing the integration of Afterpay with its Square Online and eCommerce API on Thursday, Block revealed it has seen nearly 13,000 Square merchants adopt and process BNPL sales through the first quarter, which grew Afterpay active sellers by 10 per cent.
“We believe this will drive greater conversion and sales for our sellers, and we plan to make the offering available for in-person payments,” the company said.
Q1 is the first time Afterpay's financials have been included in Block's results.
Maja Garaca Djurdjevic
Maja's career in journalism spans well over a decade across finance, business and politics. Now an experienced editor and reporter across all elements of the financial services sector, prior to joining Momentum Media, Maja reported for several established news outlets in Southeast Europe, scrutinising key processes in post-conflict societies.
