Klarna Q1 revenue up 15% as US business grows

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Swedish fintech Klarna, which last month paused plans for an initial public offering, reported first-quarter revenue growth of 15% from a year ago on Monday while adjusted earnings swung to a small profit, boosted by growth in the United States.

Klarna, which helped reshape online shopping with its short-term financing model, in April halted its plans for a U.S. stock market listing amid recession fears and uncertainty over tariffs, sources familiar with the situation said at the time.

The company had made its paperwork public in March for a long-awaited stock market debut, after it started the process of going public for a second time in three years in November 2024.

Klarna did not provide an update on the IPO plan on Monday, but said it was closely monitoring changes for its business in the economic environment.

"While we continue to see broad-based adoption of our commerce network, Klarna remains well-positioned to adapt swiftly if required," it said in the first-quarter earnings report.

Earlier on Monday before Klarna's publication of its results, Britain said it planned to regulate buy now, pay later lenders from next year to give shoppers stronger rights and more protections from unregulated borrowing.

Klarna's January-March revenue grew by 15% on a like-for-like basis to $701 million, while its adjusted profit stood at $3 million, up from a loss of $2 million a year ago when adjusting for the sale of its Klarna Checkout (KCO) business.

In the United States, revenue grew 33% year-on-year, helped by partnerships with Walmart, DoorDash and eBay, Klarna said.

The company had 100 million active customers on its platform and operations in 26 countries in April.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)