IDX-listed e-commerce firm Bukalapak swung to a loss in Q2 2024 after hitting a positive adjusted EBITDA for the first time in the previous quarter, even as revenue increased marginally, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
During April-June 2024, the company recorded a net loss of 708 billion rupiah, compared with a net profit of 614 billion rupiah in Q2 2023. It posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of 41 billion rupiah in Q2 2024, compared with a positive adjusted EBITDA of 15 billion rupiah in Q1 2024.
Revenue increased marginally to 1.24 trillion rupiah in Q2 2024 from 1.17 trillion rupiah in Q2 2023.
The company’s net loss also widened by 90% in the first half of 2024, to 748 billion rupiah from 394 billion rupiah in H1 2023. However, the adjusted EBITDA losses showed an improvement of 92% in H1 2024 to 26 billion rupiah from 334 billion rupiah in H1 2023.
Bukalapak’s financial performance H1 2024
Source: Bukalapak’s presentation
The company stated that it was hard to replicate the performance in the first quarter given the seasonality impact of Ramadan, which particularly hit online-to-offline (O2O) revenues. In 2024, Ramadan fell in March and is a period of higher seasonal spending that was captured in the Q1 results. Eid, which celebrates the end of Ramadan, is a notable time to celebrate with family and is accompanied by a two-week holiday – hence there tends to be less expenditure.
Bukalapak president Teddy Oetomo said that despite a more muted condition in the second quarter, the company showed positive growth in contribution margin and take rate. “The 30% quarterly increase in contribution margin and strong take-rate – which has breached 3% on a blended basis for the first time – is particularly pleasing,” he said in a statement.
Bukalapak reported a revenue growth of 11% to 2.41 trillion rupiah in H1 2024 from 2.18 trillion rupiah in H1 2023. The marketplace division booked a 6% growth, primarily supported by gaming. Meanwhile, the O2O division grew 17% in H1 2024, driven by continued improvement in the product mix and a broader range of service offerings to Mitras, the company stated.
The company’s TPV slightly increased by 2% to 83 trillion rupiah in H1 2024 from 81.56 trillion rupiah in H1 2023. The O2O business showed an increase of 11% in TPV, while marketplace TPV decreased by 6% during the period. Around 73% 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 digitising trends among offline micro-retail stores.
Its contribution margin improved to 286 billion rupiah in H1 2024 from 228 billion rupiah in H1 2023. O2O’s contribution margin as a percentage of TPV was steady at 0.13%; however, there was a significant 20 bps improvement in the marketplace’s contribution margin to 0.77% in Q2 2024.
Bukalapak has a strong capital position with 19 trillion rupiah of cash, cash equivalents, and liquid investments, which include government bonds and mutual funds as of June 30, 2024. The strong balance sheet allows the company to invest in innovation, expand markets, diversify product lines, and scale operations.
