SINGAPORE, June 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MoneyHero Limited (NASDAQ:MNY) ("MoneyHero" or the "Company"), a market leading personal finance and digital insurance aggregation and comparison platform in Greater Southeast Asia, today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. Management Commentary: Rohith Murthy, Chief Executive Officer, stated, "I am pleased to report another strong quarter, with revenue increasing by 24% year-over-year to $22.2 million. This significant growth underscores the effectiveness of our strategic initiatives and the robust performance across our core markets. Despite Q1 historically being a lower quarter due to the Chinese New Year holidays and the shorter month of February, which typically results in a drop from Q4 to Q1, we have achieved substantial year-over-year growth. This demonstrates the resilience and strength of our business model in overcoming seasonal challenges. "Reflecting on the five key pillars from our Q4 2023 earnings call—Consumer Pull, Conversion Expertise, Insurance Brokerage, Strong Partner Relationships, and Operating Leverage—we see their clear impact in our Q1 results. Our enhanced user experience and high-quality content continue to attract and retain consumers, driving significant inbound traffic. "Our conversion expertise is evidenced by a 72% increase in approved applications, thanks to our superior UX/UI. The insurance brokerage segment, a major growth driver, saw revenue increase by 44% year-over-year, contributing 8.2% to our Group revenue as we simplify and enhance the insurance purchasing process. "Strong partner relationships have enabled us to be the largest digital acquisition channel for many financial partners. This quarter, we ramped up marketing campaigns and market share strategies, particularly in Singapore and Hong Kong, which saw revenue growth of 61% and 37% respectively. "Our aggressive growth strategy around credit cards serves multiple strategic purposes: acquiring new users, becoming the preferred acquisition channel for many partners, and leveraging credit card acquisition as an incubator for cross-selling other products, especially insurance. "Our Creatory platform continues to thrive, contributing 19% to Group revenue in Q1, up from 17% last year. We are investing in Creatory by adding new creators and expanding through marketing campaigns, tapping into new audience segments. "Our increased EBITDA loss reflects deliberate investments in growth and market share expansion. These investments are not just about immediate revenue but building a sustainable business model. By expanding our user base and market presence, we are laying the foundation for future profitability. As time progresses, the brand and marketing investments we've made will improve brand trust and conversion rates, further increasing our efficiency. "To further enhance our financial performance, we are also optimizing operational efficiencies and expanding into higher margin products such as personal loans, insurance, and advertising revenues. We anticipate these initiatives will reduce our operating burn starting the second half of this year. Additionally, leveraging AI and automation, and centralizing data on a robust platform will enhance marketing efficiencies through better insights and CRM strategies. "Lastly, our commitment to operational leverage remains unwavering. Despite increased operating costs to support our growth strategy, our disciplined approach to scaling and efficiency will drive long-term value. With a debt-free balance sheet and strong cash position, we are well-positioned to execute our strategic initiatives and achieve our ambitious $100 million revenue target for 2024. These solid Q1 results demonstrate that we are on track to meet our annual guidance. "In conclusion, while profitability may be delayed due to accelerated user growth and market share expansion, our focus on long-term strategic investments and operational efficiencies will ensure sustainable profitability. I am confident about the long-term profitability in our business as we continue to scale and leverage our strengths." Hao Qian, Chief Financial Officer, added: "I am thrilled to join MoneyHero Group as its new CFO. In Q1 2024, MoneyHero's aggressive expansion strategy resulted in a dramatic 72% growth in approved applications with Adjusted EBITDA loss increasing to US$(6.4) million. This growth helped drive strong market share gains in Greater Southeast Asia and revenue growth to over US$22 million. We remain focused on expanding our market share dominance through both organic and M&A to further consolidate the industry and realize efficiency gains throughout Greater Southeast Asia. I look forward to contributing to MoneyHero's continued success and working with the talented team to drive further growth and long-term shareholder value. "MoneyHero delivered 24% year-over-year revenue growth in the first quarter of 2024. In the first quarter, we continued to implement a strong growth strategy to grow our user base and further extend our market share lead. For the first quarter 2024, our year-over-year adjusted EBITDA loss increased to US$(6.4) million. The primary drivers for the increased loss include: 1) Pursue market share capture strategy versus competitors by increasing brand and direct marketing expenses 2) Provider constraints due to Citi exiting two critical markets - Taiwan and Philippines 3) Total operating costs increased YoY primarily due to additional costs associated with being a public company (audit fees, D&O insurance, IR/PR related fees, etc.) "As a result of our strategic initiatives, we expect adjusted EBITDA loss to remain elevated for the first half of 2024, but we expect margins to recover in the second half of 2024 and continue to expand for the rest of the year. We anticipate operating at adjusted EBITDA profitability on a monthly basis in the late part of 2024." First Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights Revenue increased by 24% year-over-year to US$22.2 million in the first quarter of 2024 Online financial comparison platforms revenue increased by 22% year-over-year to US$18.1 million Creatory, MoneyHero's B2B business, revenue increased by 34% year-over-year and contributed to 19% of Group revenue in the first quarter of 2024, as compared to 17% in the prior year period Revenue by markets: Singapore revenue increased by 61% year-over-year to US$8.9 million in the first quarter, with the strongest growth coming from the credit card and insurance verticals Hong Kong revenue increased by 37% year-over-year to US$7.7 million in the first quarter, with the strongest growth coming from the personal loan vertical Philippines revenue decreased by 4% year-over-year to US$4.0 million in the first quarter, largely due to revised pricing terms for a key client upon the completion of its services migration post-acquisition Taiwan revenue decreased by 40% year-over-year to US$1.4 million in the first quarter due to paused product offerings for certain key clients, but secured deals with new and returning clients in the first quarter Revenue from insurance products increased by 44% year-over-year to US$1.8 million in the first quarter of 2024, contributing 8% of Group revenue, as compared to 7% in the prior year period Total operating costs and expenses increased to US$34.5 million in the first quarter of 2024 from US$18.8 million in the prior year period, driven primarily by increased investment in marketing and customer acquisition as part of the Company's strategy to expand market share and increase brand awareness Adjusted EBITDA loss increased to US$(6.4) million in the first quarter of 2024 from US$(0.3) million in the prior year period As of March 31, 2024, the Company had a debt-free balance sheet with US$60.0 million in cash and cash equivalents First Quarter 2024 Operational Highlights Monthly Unique Users decreased by 3% year-over-year to 8.5 million in the first quarter of 2024, but Total Traffic increased by 4% year-over-year to 32.7 million on the back of strong traffic growth in the Philippines MoneyHero Group Members, to whom we can provide more tailored product information and recommendations, grew by 59% year-over-year to 5.9 million as of March 31, 2024 due to membership growth across all markets Approved Application volumes increased by 72% year-over-year in the first quarter to 206,000, driven by strong growth in the Company's credit card and insurance products Capital Structure The table below summarizes the capital structure of the Company as of March 31, 2024: Share Class Issued and Outstanding Class A Ordinary 26,170,099   Class B Ordinary 13,254,838   Preference Shares 3,466,820   Total Issued Shares 42,891,757   Employee Equity Options1     Total Issued and Issuable Shares2 44,449,383     Summary of financial / KPI performance For the Three Months Ended March 31,   2024 2023   (US$ in thousands, unless otherwise noted) Revenue 22,175 17,902 Adjusted EBITDA (6,440) (300)       Clicks (in thousands) 2,294 1,898 Applications (in thousands) 495 375 Approved Applications (in thousands) 206 120   Revenue breakdown For the Three Months Ended March 31,   2024   2023     US$ % US$ %   (US$ in thousands, except for percentages) By Geographical Market:         Singapore 8,944 40.3 5,559 31.1 Hong Kong 7,716 34.8 5,641 31.5 Taiwan 1,402 6.3 2,324 13.0 Philippines 3,979 17.9 4,131 23.1 Malaysia 133 0.6 247 1.4           Total Revenue 22,175 100.0 17,902 100.0           By Source:         Online financial comparison platforms 18,058 81.4 14,834 82.9 Creatory 4,117 18.6 3,068 17.1