ANZ sets profit benchmark.

Buy now pay later (BNPL) provider, Afterpay has more than doubled its underlying sales for the year to date, recording 105% growth to $7.3 billion, compared to the prior corresponding period.

March was the group’s third largest underlying sales month on record, behind November and December 2019, while Q3 FY20 underlying sales increased by 97% on the pcp.

Australia and New Zealand were called out as highly profitable and described as a blue print for profitability in new markets over time.

Underlying sales from in-store in ANZ increased by 75% compared to Q3 FY19, however growth moderated from mid-March as government-enforced retail trading restrictions commenced.

For the month of March, underlying sales across all markets were strong with average daily sales up circa 12% on January and February. Online sales represented 88% of total global underlying sales.

ANZ online sales showed a marked uptick in the second half of March – up 8% on the first half – while in-store volumes were down 29%. Spend was skewed toward necessity, personal care and homeware categories.

The ANZ region now has 3.2 million active customers, up from 2.6 million at 31 March 2019. The median age of active customers in Australia is 33 to 34 years.

Active merchant numbers in ANZ have increased from 24,800 to 38,600 year-on-year. Key merchants who went live or contracted during Q3 FY20 included eBay and Samsung. There was strong initial customer response with eBay becoming a top performing Australian merchant within a few days from launch on 3 April 2020.