Zip has confirmed it is still in takeover talks with rival buy now, pay later provider Sezzle, as it prepares to publish its half-year results later this week.
In a statement to the ASX on Monday, Zip said that the discussions with Sezzle originally announced last month were ongoing, but reiterated there was no certainty they would result in a transaction of any kind.
“The Zip board remains committed to ensuring any transaction delivers value to shareholders and will always be disciplined in its assessment of potential opportunities,” the company said.
“The board pursues transformational transactions that help to accelerate the delivery of Zip’s broader strategic objectives of greater scale in core markets, improved customer and merchant value, and a faster path to profitability through significant synergies.”
Ahead of its results on Thursday, Zip said it expected to record a $108.1 million cash EBITDA loss for the first half partially attributed to its investment in growth and geographic expansion.
The company flagged record revenues of $302.2 million during the first half, up 89 per cent year-on-year.
Transaction volumes jumped 93 per cent to a record $4.5 billion, while transaction numbers surged 147 per cent to 36.3 million. Meanwhile, customer numbers increased by 74 per cent to 9.9 million and merchants on the Zip platform rose 113 per cent to 81,800.
“Top line performance across the group and in core markets continues to be on a strong trajectory, as Zip executes on its mission of becoming the first payment choice everywhere and every day,” the company said.
Zip also indicated that a number of measures were set to improve cash flow and reduce run-rate costs in the second half of the financial year.
“Zip is undertaking a series of cost saving initiatives with continued focus on driving sustainable growth and increased profitability in core markets, whilst adjusting capital allocation to markets where Zip believes there is a near term pathway to profitability,” it said.
Jon Bragg
Jon Bragg is a journalist for Momentum Media's Investor Daily, nestegg and ifa. He enjoys writing about a wide variety of financial topics and issues and exploring the many implications they have on all aspects of life.
