Kaspi.kz leaves LSE. Here is why

Kaspi.kz is going to go through delisting from the LSE / Photo: REUTERS/Suzanne

The Kaspi.kz fintech group is going to delist its American Depository Shares (ADS) and global depository receipts (GDR) from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) before March 25, the company said in a statement.

As the company noted, the decision to leave was driven by the low volume of trade on the LSE as well as the high costs and administrative burden on the group. Kaspi said it has spent too much compared to the limited liquidity of ADS and GDR on the LSE.

The LSE rules require companies listed on the exchange to notify them about their intention to leave at least 20 days ahead of the scheduled stop of trading. АDS and GDR issued by Kaspi.kz have been traded on the LSE since October 2020. At the time, the company raised $1 billion and placed 15% of its shares during its IPO.

The company said that delisting from the LSE won’t affect holders of ADS which are traded on Nasdaq. The securities have been traded on the American exchange since January 19, 2024. Now, Kaspi.kz is expecting that ADS will be primarily traded on Nasdaq. The company has advised investors to contact their brokers if they have any questions.

Kaspi.kz also published its financial statement for 2023. The company reported a 51% increase in revenue ($4.2 billion) and a 44% increase in net profit ($1.8 billion). The rapid development of a payment system and a marketplace secured 66% of revenue for the entire group in 2023. In 2024, the revenue is expected to grow by 25%, mainly driven by the company’s marketplace.

Last year, Kaspi Shop reported a 63% increase over the same period of 2022. The gross value of products sold on the marketplace grew by 53% to $3.3 billion. The total volume of sales with gadgets has risen 3.5fold.

In October 2023, Kaspi announced that it would file an F-1 application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to get listed on Nasdaq. The company issued 11.3 million new ADS and raised more than a billion dollars during its IPO.

As of January 2024, there were three majority shareholders in the company: Baring Funds (27.53%), Mikhail Lomtadze (24.67%) and Vyacheslav Kim (23.47%). There are 216.7 million of common shares and 199.5 million pf placed shares; 9.8 million shares have been acquired over the past two years under the large-scale buyback program. Currently, there are 189.6 million common shares in the market.