dLocal continues growth run as it expands to more markets
Emerging markets ecommerce player dLocal remains one of the highest-valued companies in cross-border payments in terms of revenue multiples, so expectations were high for the company’s Q4 and FY 2021 results. dLocal investors gave the stock a nice uptick post the earnings release but maintained consistency with the sector-wide downgrade and the stock is still around two thirds down from its 2021 peak.
Key takeaways from dLocal’s Q4 and FY results:
- Total payment volume was the company’s headline success, rising 193% for the year to $2.1bn, and 145% for Q4 to $757m. As part of this, it saw triple-digit growth in both pay-ins and pay-outs.
- Revenue was also strong, with 134% growth year-on-year to $244m for FY 21 and 120% growth in Q4 to $76m. 22% of revenue for the year came from new merchants.
- The company also managed to increase its adjusted EBITDA margin, which rose to 41%, compared to 2020’s 40%. However, the take rate was around 20% down on 2020 levels but still far above industry peers. The take rate reduction was driven by a shift in customer mix toward larger global merchants and a higher share of local-to-local payments.
- dLocal also grew its presence to 35 countries (up from 20 in 2020), with connections to 700+ payment methods, and increased its headcount by 73% to 535.
Looking to 2022, the company continues to focus on growing globally, and expects to maintain a net customer retention rate of 150%+ over the course of the year and an EBITDA margin “north of 35%”. It does not anticipate being impacted by changes related to the Covid-19 pandemic or the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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