Brazil payment firm PagBank posts 21% increase in fourth-quarter net profit

Adds details from earnings report

SAO PAULO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian payments firm PagBank PAGS.N posted on Thursday a 21% increase in its fourth-quarter net profit from a year earlier to 631 million reais, above the 571.5 million reais profit expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

PagBank, which also operates a digital bank, was the first Brazilian company listed on the New York Stock Exchange to also have Brazilian Depositary Receipts traded on the local financial exchange PAGS34.

BY THE NUMBERS

The company posted an 18% increase in its net revenue to 5.1 billion reais in the quarter ended in December from a year earlier.

Its total payments volume (TPV) increased by 28% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, reaching 146 billion reais.

In the full year, PagBank saw its credit portfolio grow by 46% year-on-year.

WHAT'S NEXT

PagBank expects to continue its business expansion in 2025 and projects investment of between 2.2 and 2.4 billion reais for the year.

The company sees a 7% to 11% growth in gross profit, and an increase of 11% to 15% in earnings per share in 2025.

KEY QUOTES

"We remain focused on maximizing returns for our investors, combining solid growth with disciplined financial management," Chief Financial Officer Artur Schunck said in a press release, which also mentioned an expansion in operational leverage for the quarter and a 784-million-real share buyback program in 2024.