9 highlights from Bukalapak’s confidential investor deck

As Tech in Asia previously reported, Jakarta-headquartered ecommerce firm Bukalapak hopes to list on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in August, making it the first of the country’s unicorns to go public.

If successful, Bukalapak would beat not only GoTo – its larger local rival – in the race to go public, but also other Southeast Asian peers looking to list in the near future. The queue for ready-to-list tech firms ranges from Grab to Traveloka to Carousell. Stakeholders in the Southeast Asian tech industry will be watching this listing closely to gauge the market’s response.

Here’s what caught our attention in what the company termed a “mini expose” presentation.

In response to Tech in Asia’s questions, Bukalapak said in a statement that it was looking at financing and growth opportunities, though “no decision has been made at this time.”

1. Top line grew by 26% in 2020

Many ecommerce companies saw supercharged revenue growth in 2020, as lockdowns drove more shoppers online.

Shopee’s 2020 revenue surged by a blistering 160% year on year, while the net revenue of Latin America’s Mercado Libre jumped 73%.

Bukalapak’s top-line growth was relatively muted. Sales rose from US$76 million in 2019 to US$96 million in 2020 – a 26% increase.

Bukalapak’s revenue growth was roughly in line with Lazada’s in the same span of time. Alibaba’s 2020 annual report stated that the top line of its international commerce retail segment, of which Lazada and AliExpress make up a sizeable chunk, was up 24% year on year.

2. Operating expenses are 2.3x of revenue but moving in the right direction

Bukalapak’s operations are generating negative cash flow, which is no surprise for a fast-growing startup. But 2020 saw an improvement in the trend: At US$82 million in the red, its negative cash flow from operations is the smallest in the most recent three-year period.

This improvement is driven by the company’s emphasis on running a tighter ship when it comes to operating expenses. These expenses went down from 3.4x revenue in 2019 to 2.3x revenue in 2020, despite total revenue climbing by 26% over the year.

Sales and marketing expenses, in particular, have fallen in absolute terms. Bukalapak attributes this to gains from economies of scale that drove down its customer acquisition costs in the Mitra segment (more on that later). The company says it has cut customer acquisition costs to under US$6 in 2020, down by 64% from 2018.

3. Bukalapak will attract a multibillion dollar valuation

4. Smaller than its peers

5. Bukalapak is placing its bets outside of Indonesia’s Tier 1 region

6. Mitra Bukalapak is the company’s growth engine

7. Its relatively low take rate

8. Experienced leadership with blue-chip corporate credentials

9. Potentially strong financial services play