A file photo of a Coupang logistics center (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Coupang Inc. said Wednesday it racked up a profit in the first quarter and posted a record-high quarterly net revenue and gross profit, thanks to the company’s operational improvement and increased sales.
The net profit of South Korea’s top e-commerce retailer reached US$90.9 million in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $209.3 million a year earlier, the New York Stock Exchange-listed company said.
This marks the third consecutive quarter for Coupang to post a profit, following its first-ever quarterly net profit in the July-September period last year.
The e-commerce giant also logged an operating income of $106 million in the January-March period, swinging from an operating loss of $205 million a year earlier.
The first-quarter operating income followed an operating income of $77.4 million in the third quarter of last year and $83.4 million in the fourth quarter.
Coupang’s net revenue came to a record high of $5.8 billion, up 13 percent on-year, and gross profit also posted a record high of $1.4 billion, up 36 percent on-year.
Coupang’s active customers exceeded 19 million, posting an on-year increase of 5 percent, according to the company. Per-customer sales averaged $305.
By business, net revenue of its product commerce division increased 15 percent on-year to $5.66 billion.
Net revenue of new business areas, including the food delivery service Coupang Eats and the video streaming service Coupang Play, was down 21 percent on-year to $142 million.
Sorting robots deliver packages to boxes at Coupang Inc.’s fulfillment center in Daegu, 237 kilometers south of Seoul, on Feb. 3, 2023. (Yonhap)
Coupang attributed their profit to operational improvements and increase in sales despite an overall slowdown of the South Korean retail market.
“The overwhelming majority of the retail market is still offline, where prices are high and selection is limited,” Kim Bom, the founder and CEO of Coupang, said about the Korean market, noting that consumers here have access to less than 10 percent of the retail space per capita available to U.S. counterparts.
Kim said Rocket Growth, Coupang’s fulfillment and logistics service, saw sales of units grow nearly 90 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier thanks to its efforts to provide vast selection and low prices to customers, unlike the offline market.
Coupang made its landmark debut on the New York stock market in 2021 in an effort to expand its global presence.
In 2021 and 2022, the e-commerce titan failed to post a yearly profit, reporting a net loss of $1.5 billion and $92 million, respectively.
(Yonhap)
