MANILA, Philippines — Billease, one of the Philippines’ leading consumer finance and buy-now-pay-later platforms, reported audited consolidated results for the financial year ended 31 December 2025. Revenue grew more than 80% to US$151.2 million and net profit reached US$13.6 million, extending Billease’s multi-year track record of profitability—a rare position in a market where the majority of digital banks and lenders remain in the red.
The platform’s gross loan book grew more than 77% to US$212.1 million, total assets reached US$233.5 million, and Billease now onboards more than 100,000 new customers every month. The business delivered a return on assets of roughly 6.8%.
“The growth was driven by both ends of our customer funnel: strong new-customer acquisition paired with deepening repeat usage,” said Georg Steiger, co-founder and CEO of Billease. “It tells us there is significant underlying demand for affordable, well-structured credit in this country, and that the platform scales without compromising our standards. We don’t view 2025 as a peak, we view it as evidence that the model works.”
Investing in growth
The year’s results reflect deliberate investment in the platform’s expansion, including a significant scale-up of Billease’s on-the-ground sales network alongside marketing and merchant partnerships. This investment was funded from operating profits rather than external capital.
“We are investing from a position of profitability, not chasing it,” Steiger added. “That is what lets us grow quickly and responsibly at the same time.”
Consistent credit performance
Credit performance remained consistent through the year’s expansion. Billease’s underwriting models, refined over eight years and millions of lending decisions, allowed the company to extend credit to a rapidly growing customer base while holding risk levels within the range the business has operated in historically.
“We grew the book more than 77% without loosening our standards,” said Steiger. “Growth that comes at the expense of credit discipline isn’t growth — it’s a deferred loss.”
Well capitalized, and building capital from earnings
Billease remains well capitalized following its 2024 Series C, a significant round led by TPG’s The Rise Fund with participation from existing investor Burda Principal Investments. As of 31 December 2025, total equity stood at US$109.4 million comprising US$82.9 million of paid-in capital and US$26.6 million of retained earnings, with the balance in reserves an equity-to-assets ratio of roughly 47%.
On top of that base, the company continues to accrue capital from its own earnings. Retained earnings roughly doubled during the year, from US$12.8 million to US$26.6 million, giving Billease substantial headroom to keep funding loan-book growth.
Building toward banking
Billease enters banking from a strong base. Its FY2025 return on assets of roughly 6.8% compares with the 1–2% typically earned by banks across Southeast Asia. Following its 2025 acquisition of Rural Bank of Sta. Maria, the company is preparing to launch digi-centric banking services that will broaden what it offers customers including savings and deposits and further improve its funding profile and cost of capital.
“Bringing the bank live is the single biggest strategic priority in front of us,” said Steiger. “Once that’s done, the runway opens up considerably a fuller product set for customers, and a materially better cost of funding.”
