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Introduction & Market Context
PensionBee Group plc (LSE:PBEE) released its Q1 2025 results on April 23, 2025, highlighting significant revenue growth and reaching a breakeven point on a last twelve months (LTM) basis for the first time. Despite these positive developments, the company’s shares closed down 2.55% at £157 on the day of the announcement, suggesting investors may have had mixed reactions to certain aspects of the results.
The online pension provider continues to expand its customer base and assets under administration (AUA) while making progress on profitability goals, particularly in its established UK business. Meanwhile, its US expansion remains in the investment phase, creating a drag on overall group profitability in the short term.
Quarterly Performance Highlights
PensionBee reported strong growth across key metrics for Q1 2025, with group revenue increasing 23% year-over-year to £9.1 million and assets under administration rising 20% to £5.8 billion. The company’s invested customer base grew 14% to 275,000, while maintaining high retention rates above 95%.
As shown in the company’s results overview:
Group adjusted EBITDA showed a slight improvement to £(2.0) million for the quarter compared to £(2.1) million in Q1 2024. More significantly, on a last twelve months basis, PensionBee achieved breakeven with an adjusted EBITDA of £0.5 million, a substantial improvement from the £(5.3) million loss reported for the LTM period ending March 2024.
The company’s non-financial metrics reveal both strengths and challenges in the underlying business:
While gross inflows increased modestly by 3% to £345 million, gross outflows rose 29% to £131 million, resulting in net flows decreasing by 9% to £214 million compared to the same period last year. Additionally, market growth and other factors had a negative impact of £235 million in Q1 2025, contrasting with a positive £272 million contribution in Q1 2024.
Detailed Financial Analysis
PensionBee’s financial performance shows a clear distinction between its maturing UK business and its nascent US operations. The UK segment demonstrated strong profitability improvement, with revenue increasing 28% year-over-year to £9.5 million and adjusted EBITDA loss narrowing by 50% to £(1.1) million for the quarter.
On an LTM basis, the UK business achieved profitability with an adjusted EBITDA of £3.4 million, representing a 9% margin compared to a negative 20% margin in the prior year period. This improvement underscores the scalability of PensionBee’s business model as it gains critical mass in its home market.
The detailed financial tables below highlight these trends:
The US business, still in its early investment phase, recorded an adjusted EBITDA loss of £(1.0) million for the quarter with no revenue generation yet. Management indicated that the US segment will remain in investment mode through at least the second quarter of 2025 as the company builds its presence in the American retirement market.
Strategic Initiatives
In the UK, PensionBee accelerated its marketing spend to £4.1 million during the quarter (up from £3.6 million in Q1 2024) to drive customer acquisition. The company launched a brand campaign with the tagline "When your pension is in a good place, you’re in a good place" across various channels, resulting in approximately 10,000 new invested customers during the quarter.
The company has also focused on operational efficiency, implementing new automations across its technology platform that improved productivity by 16% year-over-year, with each staff member now supporting 1,369 invested customers compared to 1,184 previously. PensionBee’s Customer Success Team is now supported by ’Beetrix’, an internal AI bot, highlighting the company’s investment in technology to enhance scalability.
These strategic initiatives are detailed in the company’s business highlights:
In the US, PensionBee is expanding through a partnership with State Street (NYSE:STT), enabling American consumers to consolidate old retirement accounts. The company is building brand awareness through social media and public relations efforts, accumulating a total following of 17,000 across various platforms. PensionBee is also advancing its Safe Harbor IRA, an employer-to-consumer approach, and has launched several functionality enhancements including a Roth IRA and seamless contribution and transfer automations.
Forward-Looking Statements
PensionBee reaffirmed its long-term financial targets first presented at its Capital Markets Day in October 2024. The company aims to exceed £100 million in group revenue in the short to medium term (by year 5) and surpass £250 million in the longer term (5-10 years).
On the profitability front, PensionBee targets an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 20% in the short to medium term, rising to around 50% in the longer term. These ambitious targets reflect management’s confidence in the scalability of its business model and the significant market opportunity in both the UK and US retirement sectors.
The company’s financial guidance framework provides a clear roadmap for investors:
While PensionBee has made significant strides toward profitability, particularly in its UK business, the continued investment in US expansion will likely weigh on group-level profitability in the near term. However, the improvement in LTM adjusted EBITDA to breakeven represents an important milestone in the company’s journey toward sustainable profitability.
As PensionBee continues to execute its growth strategy across both markets, investors will be closely monitoring customer acquisition costs, retention rates, and progress toward revenue and profitability targets. The slight increase in UK customer acquisition cost to £249 (from £244 in Q1 2024) and the 9% decrease in net flows may be factors contributing to the market’s cautious reaction despite the overall positive financial trends.
Full presentation:
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