Indonesia-listed giant e-commerce major PT Bukalapak.com Tbk hit positive adjusted EBITDA for the first time during the quarter ended March 31, 2024, riding on strong revenue growth and cost controls.
During Jan-March 2024, Bukalapak narrowed its net losses by 96% to 39 billion rupiah from 1 trillion rupiah in the corresponding period last year. The company’s adjusted EBITDA reached 15 billion rupiah in Q1 2024 from a negative adjusted EBITDA of 209 billion rupiah in Q1 2023.
“Q1 2024 is a landmark moment in Bukalapak’s history. We are now profitable on a quarterly adjusted EBITDA basis for the first three months of 2024. This is a fantastic result for the company and has been achieved with strong top-line revenue growth, a thriving take rate – especially in the O2O segment – and excellent cost control,” Bukalapak president Teddy Oetomo said in a statement on Monday.
Bukalapak recorded 1.17 trillion rupiah revenue in Q1 2024, up 16% from 1 trillion rupiah in the same period last year. O2O business division recorded a 24% growth in revenue at 640 billion rupiah. The O2O segment accounts for 54% of the total revenue. The rest was contributed by marketplace business, which increased by 8% in Q1 2024.
“The growth in our online to offline (O2O) division was driven by an improvement in our product mix and a broader range of service offerings to Mitras,” Bukalapak stated.
The company’s total processing value (TPV) stood at 41.8 trillion in the first three months of 2024, up slightly by 3% compared to 40.45 trillion rupiah in the same period last year. TPV of the marketplace business stood at 21.6 trillion rupiah, while the TPV of the O2O business grew by 8% to 20.2 trillion rupiah during the period.
“Around 64% of the company’s TPV is from outside the tier 1 regions of Indonesia, where it continues to see strong growth in all-commerce penetration and digitizing trends among offline micro-retail stores,” Bukalapak stated.
Bukalapak showed improvement in G&A expenses in Q1 2024 which reduced by 49% year on year to 208 billion rupiah. Technology investment played a key role in driving cost efficiency.
Bukalapak’s Key Highlights
Source: Bukalapak’s presentation
In Q1 2024, Bukalapak still had a strong capital position with 19.1 trillion rupiah ($1.17 billion) of cash, cash equivalents, and liquid investments that included government bonds and mutual funds as of March 31, 2024. The strong balance sheet allowed the company to invest in innovation, market expansion, product line diversification, and scaling operations.
Bukalapak stated that a solid macroeconomy and consumer confidence had delivered positive momentum at the start of the year. The company expects revenue to grow by 15-20% year-on-year to around 5.1 trillion rupiah and adjusted EBITDA to be over 200 billion rupiah for the full year of 2024.
“This remains a viable business model and we continue to invest in growth opportunities that will scale the business and boost both earnings and margins in years to come,” Bukalapak stated.
Bukalapak shares closed at 121 rupiah apiece on Monday, up 0.83% from 120 rupiah apiece a day earlier. However, the share price dropped 85.7% compared to its IPO price of 850 rupiah apiece.
