Brazil's PagSeguro Q4 profit jumps 35%, beating forecasts (updated)

PagSeguro Digital

02/03/2023 21:23

(Adds more details on earnings, context)
       SAO PAULO, March 2 (Reuters) - Brazilian financial
technology firm PagSeguro Digital  PAGS.N  on Thursday posted a
35% jump in its fourth-quarter net profit, beating expectations
on the back of growing market share and more secured loans.
    The New York-listed company, which operates as a digital
bank and as a payment processor, posted net profits of 408
million reais ($78.4 million) for the quarter, surpassing the
400.13 million reais estimated by analysts polled by Refinitiv.
    Net revenues reached 329 million reais, while its loan
portfolio landed at 2.7 billion reais at the end of December,
43% higher than a year earlier. 
        The firm said it was focusing more on "secured credit
products" backed by collateral, "a move that began long before
the substantial increase in indebtedness and defaults in the
Brazil over 2022."
  
        Persistently high interest rates have caused banks to
dramatically raise their provisions for bad loans, as higher
borrowing costs raise the risks of customers defaulting on their
debts.
  
    ($1 = 5.2070 reais)

 (Reporting by Peter Frontini; Editing by Sarah Morland)
 ((Peter.Siqueira@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 56447727;))