Klarna Lowers 2024 Revenue and Volume Expectations as German Retail Slows
Klarna Revises Financial Outlook Amid Challenging Market Conditions
By Supantha Mukherjee
Lowered Forecasts Impact Market Sentiment
STOCKHOLM, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Klarna, the Swedish "buy now, pay later" services provider and online bank, cut its full-year volume and revenue forecast on Tuesday, citing conditions in Germany, its largest market, sending its shares down 17% in premarket trading.
The guidance overshadowed its surprise second-quarter profit, while analysts had expected a net loss, helped by growth in its U.S. markets.
Updated Gross Merchandise Volume and Revenue Projections
The company now expects its full-year gross merchandise volume (GMV), a metric for measuring sales, to be between $149 billion and $151 billion, compared with its earlier forecast of greater than $155 billion.
Klarna expects its full-year revenue to be between $4.08 billion and $4.16 billion, a fall from its prior expectation of $4.34 billion. Analysts had expected $4.42 billion.
German Retail Market Performance
German retail sales grew less than 1% in real terms in the first half, consistent with conditions reported across the country's retail sector this season. Klarna's forecast assumes Germany stays soft through the second half rather than recovering.
A German survey of 600 retail companies last month found that 42% rated their current business situation as poor, while nearly two-thirds said conditions had deteriorated in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2025.
Second-Quarter Results and U.S. Market Growth
Klarna said its quarterly net profit was $9 million compared with a loss of $53 million in the year-earlier period, ahead of expectations of a loss of $17.4 million. Adjusted operating income was $91 million versus $29 million a year ago, it added.
Klarna's April-June revenue grew 27% to $1.04 billion, beating expectations of $993.8 million.
Growth in Gross Merchandise Volume
GMV rose 18% to $36.6 billion in the quarter. GMV in the United States rose 27%.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, editing by Terje Solsvik)
