Zebit flags positive core earnings ahead of Christmas shopping season in debut 4C filing

Ecommerce platform Zebit (ASX:ZBT) has followed up last week’s listing with its first 4C filing for the September quarter.

The company highlighted revenues of $US15.3m, which flowed through to underlying EBITDA of $US0.13 million – its first positive quarterly EBITDA result since inception.

Factoring in operating costs, ZBT booked a net loss for the quarter of $US0.33 million.

Post-Covid outlook

Looking ahead, Zebit CEO Marc Schneider said he’s focused on executing Q4 holiday season.

The company has a 31 December year-end, and H2 revenues typically account for around 65 per cent of the annual total per the Company’s recent Prospectus.

Zebit operates an ecommerce platform for consumer products, in connection with extending store credit via advanced machine learning decision models, to use in the Zebit Marketplace. This allows customers to buy what they need and pay for products over six months without any hidden fees or penalties.

Its target market is focused on a broad base of U.S. customers who may struggle to meet the credit criteria of other traditional providers.

Zebit takes an algorithm-based approach to approving a customer and extending store credit to allow them to shop at Zebit.

Schneider also highlighted that through the middle of 2020, Zebit was more stringent in its underwriting criteria amid the fallout from COVID-19.

At the end of August, the Company removed those measures around underwriting and investment constraints, “increasing orders and new registered users”, he said.

The company booked a bad debt reserve of 6.26 per cent for the quarter, equivalent to around $US960k of the $US15.3m revenue figure.

The remainder of 2020 will be a busy time as we continue to grow our registered user base across the U.S. and continue to deliver upon our IPO objectives in the most significant quarter of Zebit’s fiscal year,” Schneider said.

Zebit debuted on the ASX last week, falling on debut after raising $35m from investors at $1.58.

The company’s move Down Under saw it follow in the footsteps of other US fintechs, amid strong demand for global fintech opportunities among Australian investors.

Speaking with Stockhead last year, the ASX’s head of listings Max Cunningham said the local bourse is well-placed to attract mid-size US companies looking to access mature capital markets to fund further growth.

Commenting on the listing in today’s result, Schneider said it “creates a strong capital foundation to accelerate growth and achieve sustainable profitability over time”.