The Payright (ASX:PYR) share price is soaring 12%. Here’s why

The Payright Ltd (ASX: PYR) share price is soaring today after the company delivered both a record month and a record quarter. The Australia-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider released an overview of its results from the quarter ending March 2021 this morning. It was met with enthusiasm from investors.

The Payright share price reached an intraday high of 75 cents, up 15% from Friday’s close, but it has since partially retreated.

At the time of writing, Payright shares are trading at 73 cents, up 12.31% from Friday’s close.

Let’s look closer at the company’s prosperous 2021.

Record breaking performance from Payright

The quarter ending March 2021 was Payright’s best yet, the company announced this morning. Further, it announced that March 2021 saw the company deliver its best monthly performance ever.

Over the quarter, Payright’s gross merchandise value (GMV) rose 38%, bringing in more than $22 million.

The number of customers using the BNPL service increased by 52% to around 47,500. Meanwhile, the number of merchants offering the service rose by 43% to more than 3,100.

The company stated that these merchants now include home improvement retailers Australian Outdoor Living, Stratco and Into Blinds.

Payright’s underlying losses related to credit defaults were similar to those of previous quarters at around 1.64%.

The quarter’s results follow on from positive half-year results. In the six months ending 31 December, Payright posted a 38% revenue increase, reaching $5.8 million.

Is Bill Smoothing driving the Payright share price?

The Payright share price boomed when it announced the launch of its Bill Smoothing payment option late last month, and the company believes it will underpin further growth.

Bill Smoothing is a direct to customer service. It allows customers to spread the cost of household bills, including utilities, car and home insurance premiums, council rates, and vehicle registrations over longer periods of time.

It allows for payments to be made over three months for bills worth less than $1,000.

Bill Smoothing was launched for existing customers last month. It’s set to launch in the coming weeks to new customers.

Management commentary

Payright joint CEOs Myles Redward and Piers Redward commented on the company’s activities and its successful quarter. Myles said:

“We have a very clear understanding and picture of Payright’s competitive positioning and resulting growth opportunities, and we’re focused on playing to our key points of competitive difference, being higher price-point BNPL and a more diversified merchant mix. The operational results achieved over the March 2021 quarter clearly show the success of our strategy in underpinning sustainable growth in a rapidly changing industry.”

Piers added:

“Our ongoing focus on sustainable growth in customers and merchant partners is paying dividends and, we expect that impetus to continue as we continue to expand our suite of products and enhance the online experience and capability.”

Payright share price snapshot

While 2021 has been good to Payright’s business, the same cannot be said for its share price.

Currently, the Payright share price is down by around 26% year to date. It’s also down by nearly 30% over the last 12 months.

Payright has a market capitalisation of around $38.5 million, with approximately 89 million shares outstanding.

Where to invest $1,000 right now

When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.