JSE-listed Pepkor Holdings has increased revenue from its financial technology (fintech) services.
The company today published a trading update for the three months ending 31 December, saying group revenue from continuing operations increased by 12.1% to R26.7 billion.
It notes that performance was driven by robust sales growth and market share gains in traditional retail, with significant growth sustained in fintech. Gross profit margin improved, mainly driven by the growth in the fintech segment.
In a statement, Pepkor says the fintech segment continued to deliver strong revenue growth in the group’s financial services and informal market businesses, increasing revenue by 35% to R3.8 billion.
The financial services businesses, in aggregate, increased revenue by 65.7% to R1.6 billion, fuelled by strategic execution in retail credit interoperability, cellular handset rentals and leverage of the group’s insurance capability.
During the quarter, it adds, 299 000 new A+ retail credit accounts were activated, bringing the total A+ account base to three million customer accounts.
Credit granting remained conservative, with the approval rate continuing its downward trend, reducing to 29% from 34% in the prior year.
“The proportion of A+ customers eligible to make purchases remained relatively stable at 72% (73% prior year), based on the group’s more conservative policy of restricting further purchases for customers who miss one single payment. Collections, non-performing loans, and provisions remained within comfortable levels,” Pepkor states.
It points out that the number of active FoneYam cellular device rentals increased to 1.2 million by the end of December 2024, up from 795 000 as at the end of September 2024. Monthly activations continued to accelerate throughout the quarter, reaching 180 000 devices for the month of December 2024.
The Flash business continued its growth trajectory, reporting revenue growth of 19.3% to R2.2 billion for the quarter.
Total throughput increased by 24.4% to R14.5 billion, supported by new Flash tap-to-pay devices, it concludes.
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