(Reuters) – Nubank, Latin America’s most valuable fintech, on Tuesday said it narrowed its fourth-quarter loss, as it added 20 million new clients.
Nubank, which listed its shares in New York in December, posted a net loss of $66.2 million, down from a $107.1 million a year earlier. In the year, it reached a breakeven.
Nubank, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, reported revenue more than tripled to $635.9 billion from a year earlier, as the fintech added 20 million new clients. Its monthly revenue per active client reached $5.6, up $2.3 from the previous quarter, boosted by new products.
Cost per client decreased per month to 90 cents from $1.10.
Despite a more challenging economic environment in Brazil in the fourth quarter, Nubank’s consumer lending delinquency rate remained roughly stable at 3.5%, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous quarter.
Analysts are paying close attention to Nubank’s performance as its default rate is seen as likely to deteriorate amid higher inflation and interest rates, while the company says its credit analysis is more accurate than competitors’.
Chief Executive David Velez said in an interview earlier this month that Brazil’s economic downturn may represent an opportunity for Nubank to gain market share, as some players are likely to retreat amid a riskier environment.
(Reporting by Carolina Mandl in Sao Paulo and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Marguerita Choy)
