Fawry for Banking Technology and Electronic Payments (Fawry), a leading fintech company led by Egyptian multimillionaire businessman Ashraf Sabry, reported a profit of EGP98.04 million ($51.12 million) in the first half of 2022, as rising operating expenses weighed down earnings.
According to its recently published financial results, Fawry’s profit fell 28.5 percent from EGP137.15 million ($7.16 million) in the first half of 2021 to EGP98.04 million ($5.12 million) in the first half of 2022, despite a double-digit increase in revenue from EGP742.56 million ($38.78 million) to EGP1.01 billion ($52.7 million).
The decline in the firm’s profit in the first half of 2022 can be attributed to a sustained increase in the company’s operating expenses, with administrative expenses exceeding EGP265 million ($13.83 million) and marketing expenses surpassing EGP180 million ($9.4 million).
Despite the decline in earnings, Fawry’s total assets increased by 43.65 percent from EGP4.14 billion ($216.1 million) to EGP5.95 billion ($310.7 million), while retained earnings increased marginally from EGP414.3 million ($21.63 million) to EGP437.45 million ($22.84 million).
Fawry is one of Africa’s leading fintech companies, providing more than 250 e-payment services through a network of over 105,000 service points in 300 Egyptian cities.
Sabry, who founded the payment platform in 2008 and championed electronic bill payments in Egypt, owns 2.345 percent of the fintech company.
In response to the double-digit drop in profit, investors on the Egyptian Stock Exchange sold off stakes in Fawry, causing the share price to fall by 4.37 percent to EGP3.7 ($0.193) at the close of trading.
Fawry’s market cap is presently EGP12.24 billion ($640 million), while Sabry’s 2.345-percent stake is valued at EGP287 million ($15 million).