Humo’s Profit Rises 3.3x to 411 Billion UZS, Boosting Tech Payment Sector Growth

Humo, a leading payment system managed by the National Interbank Processing Center, announced a remarkable rise in net profit for the first half of 2026, reaching 410.9 billion Uzbek soms. This figure marks a 3.3-fold increase compared to the same period last year, when net profit was 124.3 billion soms.

Financial Growth and Operational Highlights

The company’s revenue surged nearly threefold from 224.9 billion soms in the first half of 2025 to 663.7 billion soms in the corresponding period of 2026. This robust growth was accompanied by a more moderate increase in the cost of services, which rose by 58.7% to 102.7 billion soms.

Gross profit expanded 3.5 times to 561 billion soms, up from 160.2 billion soms a year earlier. Despite a near quadrupling of operating expenses from 32 billion soms to 125 billion soms—driven by administrative expenses increasing 4.1 times to 76.3 billion soms and selling expenses rising sharply to 23.4 billion soms—Humo maintained strong profitability metrics.

"The company retains approximately 62% of every 100 soms earned as profit," a testament to its operational efficiency and cost management amid scaling activity.

Profit from core operations rose to 436.3 billion soms from 130.3 billion soms. Pre-tax profit reached 448.7 billion soms, with net profit after tax at 410.9 billion soms. Return on net profit jumped from 55.2% to 61.9%, reflecting improved margins despite increased expenses.

Impact of Tax Policy Changes on Quarterly Performance

While overall profit for the half year surged, quarterly comparison reveals a near plateau between Q1 and Q2 profits—206 billion soms and approximately 204.9 billion soms respectively. This stagnation aligns with the removal of tax privileges that Humo enjoyed as an IT Park resident until March 31, 2026.

"The abolition of tax incentives for payment system operators from April 1 appears to have shifted a substantial tax burden into the second quarter, impacting net profitability growth," experts note.

Consequently, the company’s half-year tax expense totaled 37.8 billion soms, with the majority incurred in Q2, contrasting with only 11.2 million soms paid in Q1.

Balance Sheet and Strategic Implications

As of July 1, 2026, Humo’s total assets increased by 21.1% year-to-date to 865.1 billion soms. Shareholder equity grew 14.4% to 715.4 billion soms, while liabilities expanded 68.7% to 149.7 billion soms, exclusively current liabilities. Notably, the company holds no bank loans or long-term debt, indicating solid financial health.

Humo became part of Paynet in early 2025, following a $65 million acquisition. Paynet reported a net profit of 615.5 billion soms for H1 2026, with dividends from Humo constituting over half of this total, underscoring Humo’s importance within the parent company’s portfolio.

With a net profit of over 312 billion soms in 2025, Humo has already demonstrated the ability to exceed last year’s full-year results by 1.3 times in just six months of 2026. This rapid growth underscores Humo’s pivotal role in advancing Uzbekistan’s digital payment infrastructure and the broader fintech ecosystem.

These results highlight significant opportunities for venture capital and tech startups operating in Uzbekistan’s financial technology sector, as well as increased M&A activity catalyzed by the government’s evolving tax policies and growing market demand for digital payment solutions.