UK neobank Monzo reports first full (pre-tax) profit, prepares for EU expansion with Dublin hub

Monzo has announced its 2024 financial results, revealing its first full-year pre-tax profit. The company also confirmed that it's in the early stages of expanding into the broader European market via a new base in Ireland.

The news comes shortly after the U.K.-based neobank raised a couple of hefty tranches of funding, starting with $430 million (£340 million) in March followed by another $190 million last month at a $5.2 billion valuation. A significant chunk of this financing is intended to spearhead its expansion in the U.S. market, which it has been trying to crack for some years. Last October, the company appointed a new CEO for its U.S. operations, poaching head of global product for Block’s Cash App, Conor Walsh, to lead stateside.

However, we now know that Monzo is finally planning to push into markets closer to home, too, as the company eyes a "new gateway" in Ireland -- this will mean a new office in Dublin, though it hasn't put a timescale on this plan.

Growth

Monzo first hit profitability in the first two months of last year, a milestone driven by its lending product and the U.K.'s high interest rates. This trend continued for the remainder of the financial year, with the company now reporting a pre-tax profit of £15.4 million -- this compares to a full-year £119 million loss for 2022 and a £116 million loss for 2023. Monzo also reported that its revenue rose 250% to £880 million last year.

In the report, Monzo's board chair Gary Hoffman acknowledges that an anticipated interest rate drop could impact its performance for the coming 12 months, pointing to "external uncertainties" that may "create volatility" for the banking sector on the whole.

"The U.K. has just emerged from a technical recession, economic growth has slowed significantly and growth in the U.K. economy is expected to remain slow even as interest rates start to gradually come down," Hoffman notes. "While these risks could impact our performance and plans, I believe that we are strongly positioned to not just withstand these potential headwinds, but actually go on to thrive in the face of them."

On the whole, it's been fairly positive news for neobanks of late, with Monzo's U.K. rival Revolut last year posting its first full year of profitability. Brazil's Nubank has also been on a tear, with its valuation surging to an all-time high of $58 billion this year -- this followed a swing from a $9 million net loss in 2022 to a $1 billion net profit last year.

Monzo, for its part, has also seen its customer base rise by more than 2.3 million to 9.7 million, which includes 400,000 business customers. The company said that it expects to grow its customer count to 11 million in the coming year.