Syfe helps users manage their money. How well did it manage its own?

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Hello reader,

The other day, I had a meeting with someone who said he appreciates the basketball analogies I sometimes come up with in these opening blurbs. Just for you, dude, I’m going to try to do that again today.

Part of why I like the NBA is because it has a salary cap. The limit works as a leveler of sorts – even the teams located in the biggest markets, such as the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks, can’t just spend all the money they earn on players.

And if they choose to go over the cap – which they can – a “luxury tax” kicks in. Not even the richest team owners can countenance bleeding that kind of money for multiple years, so good players on expensive contracts are traded away and the talent distribution across teams becomes that little bit fairer.

If it’s not obvious, I have a personal fascination with the behind-the-scenes finances of organizations. And here comes the segue: I’m always interested to read about the finances of personal finance firms too. They’re supposed to be helping people save and make money, but they also have concerns themselves.

Today’s premium article focuses on investment platform Syfe’s latest numbers. It’s an interesting one, almost as fascinating as the NBA’s salary cap.

Today we look at:

• Syfe’s latest financial figures
• The Thailand-based D2C startup that tripled its sales in 2023
• Other newsy highlights such as Alibaba’s financial performance and East Ventures’ efforts to measure greenhouse gas emissions in Indonesia

Premium summary

A financial year of change for Syfe

Image credit: Timmy Loen

As I’ve written about in previous editions of the newsletter, 2023 was a year of massive change for me. That’s not to say it was bad, but it certainly had a lot more ups and downs than most years.

Financial year 2023 also sounds like it was a rollercoaster ride for Syfe, with highlights and lowlights alike.

• Highlight: Syfe posted S$4.2 million (US$3.1 million) in group revenue for its most recent financial year (FYE 2023), which covers the period from April 2022 to March 2023. This marked an over 140% increase from the US$1.3 million recorded between January and December 2021.
• Lowlights: However, its adjusted EBITDA loss widened by 27% to US$15.4 million within the same period, and it had to lay off around 10% of employees globally in February 2023 for “greater efficiency and adaptability to the rapidly evolving macroeconomic climate.”
• An optimistic future: The company said it’s set to become profitable in Singapore by this year, with plans to attain group profitability – it has relatively nascent operations in Hong Kong and Australia – by 2025.

Tripling sales is a Simplus affair

Special Lunar New Year ticket discounts!

Quick bytes