Klarna, the Swedish “buy now, pay later” pioneer, reported its fifth consecutive annual loss yesterday as it prepares for a potential US initial public offering later this year. The fintech revealed that its annual losses decreased from SKr10.4bn ($1bn) in 2022 to SKr3.2bn for 2023. Total revenues increased by 22 per cent to SKr23.5bn. It also reported its first full-year profit in the US amounting to SKr1.4bn, up from a loss of SKr900mn in 2022.
Founded in 2005, Klarna was once celebrated as a prominent success story of the fintech boom, owing to its interest-free BNPL model that allows customers to defer payments or split them into instalments. However, it faced setbacks in the wake of higher interest rates, leading to a significant decline in Klarna’s valuation — from $46bn in June 2021 to just $6.7bn a little over a year later.
