Afterpay annual loss halves as U.S. sales soar

(Reuters) – Australian buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Afterpay Ltd said on Thursday its full-year loss narrowed 54%, as sales in the United States sky-rocketed due to the popularity of alternative credit firms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world’s most valuable BNPL company reported a loss attributable to shareholders of A$19.8 million ($14.3 million) for the year ended June 30, compared with a loss of A$42.9 million a year earlier.

(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi and Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)