Checkout.com's European arm just posted a loss for the first time since 2013

UPDATE 15-01-2020 - An earlier version of this article didn't clarify that the loss posted was net and that the results are from Checkout.com's European arm, Checkout Ltd., and do not reflect the performance of the company globally.

Checkout.com's European arm, Checkout Ltd., recorded a net loss of $9.7m in 2019, the first time the company has been loss-making since 2013.

Checkout.com was one of the first fintechs to turn a profit eight years ago and has long maintained profitability, in 2018 the firm turned a profit of just under $2.8m.

Thomas Hovaguiman, CFO of Checkout.com, said the business: “continued to demonstrate strong momentum in 2019. The European acquiring part of our business once again recorded growth in revenues, gross profits and adjusted EBITDA.”

The lion’s share of the losses can be put down to growing general and administrative expenses, which more than doubled to $67.7m in 2019, up from just under $33.6m in 2018, as well as a $12.1m stock option charge issued in 2019.

Despite the loss, Checkout Ltd’s gross profit increased by 52 per cent year-on-year to over $54.6m in 2019 from just shy of $36m the year before.

As well as growing profits, Checkout Ltd. also saw its total revenue nearly double from $74.8m in 2018 up to over $146m in 2019.

The London-based payment processor also saw its employee numbers double in 2019, taking its headcount up to 309 employees from 155 in 2018—although Checkout.com now employs over 1,000 as it currently stands and has plans to hire another 700 by the end of the year.

Checkout Ltd’s results, filed with Companies House earlier this week, also showed the breakdown of the firm’s revenue generated here in the UK and the EU.

In 2019, 54 per cent of the revenue generated, totalling $79.5m, came from the EU, while the remainder, worth $66.9m was generated here in the UK.

CEO and founder, Guillaume Pousaz touched upon the firm obtaining a second EMI licence with passporting rights and becoming a principal member of both Visa, Mastercard and other schemes in France as part of its Brexit gameplan.

“The successful completion of this now allows us to provide a seamless experience for our customers in the event of a no-deal exit from the single market at the end of 2020,” Pousaz wrote.

“Transitioning this business to our French subsidiary will result in a decline in UK revenues,” he added—not great news for the UK.

Despite the slight dip in revenues, Checkout.com recently completed a $450m Series C fundraise that saw its valuation triple to $15bn.

The fintech recently added a host of big names in fintech to its roster including Revolut,Klarna,TransferWise,Coinbase and eToro.