Monzo annual profit surges as paying subscribers boost digital bank

Monzo has revealed surging annual profits as the digital bank attracted new customers and grew income from its paid subscription plans.

The company reported a pre-tax profit of £60.5 million for the year to the end of March – more than four-fold the £13.9 million generated the prior year.

Last year, Monzo’s employees sold £109 million worth of shares as part of a staff share sale that saw the bank’s valuation rise to £4.5 billion.

Excluding the financial impact of the sale – which cost the group about £53 million in expenses – its pre-tax profit surged eight-fold to £113.9 million.

The bank, which was founded a decade ago, cheered its first annual profit last year having grown to become the UK’s seventh-largest bank with more than 12 million customers.

It has reportedly been working with bankers to gear up for a potential stock market listing, although the timing and location of an initial public offering (IPO) are yet to be agreed, according to a report by Sky News last month.

A hotly-anticipated IPO would see Monzo launch its shares on the public markets and could boost its valuation further.

TS Anil, Monzo’s chief executive, said it was “way too early” to talk about IPO plans.

“We believe we’ll make a great public company one day, and we’re well on the trajectory to doing that when we choose to, but it is just not something we are focused on right now.”

He added that Monzo has “extremely patient investors” and that they “expect to make returns and they certainly will make returns, whenever there is a liquidity event”.

Monzo said 2.4 million new customers joined over the past year, with deposits growing by 48% to £16.6 billion.

It revealed that a third of its customers use Monzo as their primary bank, reflecting a growing proportion of people who use the account for day-to-day banking including receiving their salary.

Tom Oldham, Monzo’s chief financial officer, said the proportion was “world class” when compared with other digital banks.

“We’ve seen this growing over the last financial year… people are moving more of their lives over to Monzo,” he said.

The digital bank has also been cashing in on new paid subscription plans, which offer perks with retailers such as Vue and Greggs, enhanced budgeting features, and phone and travel insurance.

About one million customers paid for a subscription last year, with the group’s fee and commission income increasing 38% to £329 million, it said.

Mr Anil said the bank was “just getting started”, adding: “By bringing the best of technology and banking together and remaining customer-obsessed, we’re seeing accelerating growth and momentum and unprecedented customer love.”