Just two years ago, jobs marketplace Freelancer was singing the mantra of fast growth over profits — the catch-cry of start-ups across the globe. But on Monday, the company disappointed investors with slow revenue growth.

Despite its gross payment volumes (the amount paid for jobs facilitated by the platform) lifting 26 per cent to $741 million in the year to December 31, and the business recovering from a decline in full-year revenue in 2017, Freelancer's 3 per cent lift in revenue to $51.9 million failed to knock investors' lights out.