Expanding Success in 2023: Matt Oppenheimer, Remitly CEO, Discusses Yearly Results
Remitly, a leading digital remittance service provider, has reported impressive growth in its financial year (FY) and fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023. The company's growth was primarily driven by accelerating revenue, expanded digital remittance services, and improved operational execution.
In Q4 2023, Remitly's revenue soared by 39%, reaching an impressive $265 million, surpassing consensus estimates of $243.7 million. For the full year 2023, revenue increased by 44% year-over-year to $944 million. This growth was supported by increasing digital cross-border remittance volumes and complementary financial services offered via mobile and web platforms.
For the fiscal year following 2023 (FY 2024), Remitly is projecting revenue to pass the $1 billion mark for the first time, with a target range of $1.23 billion to $1.25 billion. The company also projects adjusted EBITDA of $75 million to $90 million, giving it a projected EBITDA margin of 6-7%.
One of the key drivers of Remitly's growth is the efficiencies of scale achieved throughout the year. The company is focusing on leveraging AI technology to improve its services and streamline operations, contributing to its growth.
Regarding plans to achieve efficiencies at scale, Remitly is notably focusing on leveraging AI and optimizing marketing spend. The company adopts AI technologies to enhance operational efficiencies and customer experience. AI-driven automation and data analytics allow better targeting of customers, improving user acquisition costs and retention rates while lowering manual intervention and errors.
For marketing efficiency, Remitly aims to optimize spend through data-driven marketing and AI-powered customer segmentation to maximize return on investment (ROI) and reduce wasted budget on less effective channels. This is critical as the company scales and aims to sustain growth while controlling costs.
Remitly's strategic focus also includes deepening customer relationships to maintain and grow its user base. In Q4 2023, active customers increased by 41% year-over-year to 5.9 million. Send volume for the full year 2023 increased by 38% year-over-year to $39.5 billion.
Another significant milestone was achieved in 2023 as Remitly reported its first positive full-year adjusted EBITDA numbers. The adjusted EBITDA margin for 2023 was 4.7%.
In summary, Remitly's FY and Q4 2023 growth was mainly driven by accelerating revenue through expanded digital remittance services and improved operational execution. Moving forward, the company plans to achieve scale efficiencies primarily by using AI to enhance operations and by data-driven optimization of marketing spend to sustain profitable growth as it expands.
In its plans for FY 2024, Remitly anticipates its revenue to surpass the $1 billion mark, demonstrating the potential growth in the intersection of finance, business, and technology. The company intends to utilize AI technology not only to streamline operations but also to optimize marketing spend for sustainable growth and profitability.
