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Klarna reported a loss last year as the Swedish fintech that was once Europe’s most valuable private tech group pressed ahead with an aggressive expansion plan.
The buy now, pay later pioneer on Wednesday reported a net loss of SKr2.5bn ($241mn) for 2023, narrower than its SKr10.4bn loss in 2022. Revenues rose 22 per cent to SKr23.5bn.
The disclosure of the loss follows a boardroom dispute this month that exposed tensions at Sequoia Capital, Klarna’s largest shareholder, and raised questions over the governance of the company.
Klarna became a posterchild for the fintech boom as its buy now, pay later model, which allows customers to delay payments or divide them into instalments, flourished during the growth of online shopping during the pandemic.
But higher interest rates have since hammered the fintech sector, triggering a collapse in Klarna’s valuation from $46bn in June 2021 to $6.7bn just over 12 months later.
