LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Wise upgraded its revenue outlook as the money-transfer company reported first-half profit dented by employee and flotation costs.
Pretax profit for the six months to the end of September fell to £18.8m from £20m a year earlier as revenue increased by one-third to £256.3m.

Employee costs rose 25% to £84.8m as the company hired 688 people to take headcount to 2,883. Outsourced services and other administrative costs doubled to £58.3m due mainly to costs linked to its flotation in July.

The value of cross-currency transactions processed by Wise rose 44% to £34bn in the first half as the company reduced prices based on efficiency gains. Wise said it expected revenue to rise at a rate in the mid-to-high 20s - up from earlier guidance for growth in the low-to-mid 20s.

Kristo Kärmann, Wise's chief executive, said: "Over the first half of this year we've improved our products and engineered away substantial points of friction in the payments process, enabling us to sustainably lower prices while continuing to invest in growing the business for the long term. So a virtuous circle of investment continues, and our service gets faster, better and cheaper."

Wise shares rose 11% to 838p at 11:22 GMT.

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