Creditas — Brazil’s largest fintech for secured loans — is accelerating its steps to demonstrate to the market that it is getting closer to its break-even point.
This is what the company’s Q1 2023 results indicate.
According to Creditas’ recently released figures, the company recorded a loss of $26 million in the first three months of the year, representing a substantial 60% drop from the $66 million loss recorded in the same period of 2022.
In a statement to the market, the company said, “As we accelerate gross profit expansion and continue to gain operating leverage, we are confident that we will achieve profitability by the end of 2023 and continue profitable growth in 2024.”
Increasing efforts to break even in 2023
Over the past two years, the Sudamerican fintech has been growing at a slower pace but with healthier margins.
Between Q1 of 2022 and the same period this year, the company’s gross profit went from $9.1 million to $24 million — an advance of 163.3%.
Compared to last year’s Q4, meanwhile, the rise was as much as 64.2%.
Creditas has stepped up efforts to break even in the short term. According to the statement accompanying the release of its numbers, the company will seek to “continue to focus on more moderate growth to become a profitable company by year-end.”
“The focus on net interest income and close monitoring of credit quality are allowing us to progressively improve gross profit,” the company added.
Consistent results in challenging times
In the first quarter of 2023, Creditas’ loan portfolio reached $1.2 billion, up to 36% compared to last year.
But on the other hand, the company’s new loan originations decelerated for the second time in a row, with a 35.3% drop to $135 million. In the first three months of 2022, new originations were $263.5 million.
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Brazil is experiencing a very hawkish period this time of year, with the highest real interest rates in the world and rising insolvency among credit card consumers.
For these reasons, Creditas remains quite conservative in products such as car financing — unlike car equity, home equity, and private consigned credit products, which have had low volatility, according to the company.
Creditas was founded in 2012, and since then, the fintech has raised $879 million in six investment rounds. Its last funding occurred in January 2022, when the company reached a valuation of $4.8 billion.
