Sean Wibberley, CEO of the JSE-listed, fast growiing financial services and retail group Weaver Fintech.
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Weaver Fintech’s share price shot up over 9% after it reported no let-up in its 120,000 new sign-ups a month and a substantial 40% rise in headline earnings.
The dividend for the year to December 31 was increased 42% to 272 cents. CFO Paul Burnett said in an interview that judging from their four-year track record, and current trading conditions, the group still had a substantial growth runway ahead of it.
The share price increased 9,14% to R72 on the JSE on a day, indicating a favourable investor response to the annual results, with the price already having risen very strongly over 12 months, considering it was trading at R30 a share a year ago.
Revenue increased by 23% to R5,5 billion. Group trading profit grew 41% to R1,1bn, driven almost entirely by the fintech business, with a 93% contribution. The group now serves more than 4,3 million customers.
“Our fintech ecosystem continues to deliver exceptional growth through the expansion of high-margin revenue streams and the engagement of our large active customer base, coupled with the low cost of digitally acquiring new customers,” said Weaver Fintech CEO Sean Wibberley.
Compound annual growth rates in key metrics over four years, such as 33% in revenue, indicated a strong track record.
“We are scaling responsibly, investing in technology, and deepening customer relationships, while maintaining stable credit risk management,” said Wibberley.
Headline earnings per share rose 40% to 552,7 cents. A final dividend of 132 cents per share was declared. Liquidity was strong, supported by R1,5bn in cash and undrawn facilities.
Fintech’s cash collections increased 45% to R15,2bn and were consistently higher than cash deployed of R14,7bn. The group refinanced and increased interest-bearing funding lines to R5bn from R3,75bn, strengthening liquidity to support the scaling of the fintech ecosystem.
The fintech division - comprising Payments, Lending, and Insurance verticals - grew revenue by 36% to R3,4bn.
Of that, fee revenue grew 39% to R1,3bn. Weaver’s high-engagement fintech platform serves 3,4 million app users (up 73%), performing 7 million digital transactions annually (up 52%).
The payments ecosystem, driven by PayJustNow’s Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) product, scaled rapidly with gross merchandise value (GMV) increasing 80%.
The platform’s onboarding of top-tier retailers had strengthened its marketplace, supporting growth to 3,450 merchants and 12,300 points of presence.
With an average account holding a relatively low value of R850, retailers liked the BNPL product because it is low risk and drove consumer engagement and upsell opportunities, said Burnett. And with no interest or fees, consumers benefited, he said.
PayStretchTM, the digital payment product launched in 2024 to enable customers to finance larger value purchases at the point of sale over a 12-month period, gained traction in the Black Friday promotions and December peak shopping period.
PayStretch GMV increased 5 times year-on-year to a cumulative R320m by year-end. The customer base expanded 45% to 4 million. The customer acquisition cost was R57.
BNPL remains the most popular entry point for Gen Z and Millennial customers, who make up 64% of the customer base.
Loan disbursements rose to R7,6bn, with 88% advanced to existing customers, underpinned by stable credit performance, resilient collections, and strong demand for the credit-backed wallet.
On the FinChoice MobiMoney wallet, 79% of the Weaver book was now in Stage 1 and displaying stable credit performance.
The Insurance vertical saw gross written premiums increasing by 21%, supported by the launch of new funeral and accident products that were expected to accelerate growth into 2026.
Group revenue from the Homechoice Retail division grew 6% to R2bn, with a shift in retail strategy.
Trading profit rose 32%, despite a softer second half as the retail division tightened credit to improve return on assets and reduce risk. The business was restructured to drive double-digit operating margins.
The expansion of the showroom network from 37 in 2024 to 60 locations in 2025 had supported a 24% increase in showroom sales.
BUSINESS REPORT