Bukalapak sees Q1 2022 profit of $1b from unrealized investment

Indonesian unicorn Bukalapak earned 14.5 trillion rupiah (around US$1 billion) in net profit in the first quarter of this year due to the gain from its investment in Allo Bank. The firm announced its investment into the digital bank in January.

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Bukalapak’s revenue jumped 86% to 788 billion rupiah (around US$54.4 million) in Q1 2022 compared to the same period last year. Its Mitra business, which focuses on serving SMEs, was still the main engine for this growth.

Revenue from Bukalapak’s Mitra business surged more than 3x to US$32.6 million for Q1 2022. The segment’s contribution to the company’s overall quarterly revenue also increased to 50% from 34% in Q1 2021.

As of March 2022, Bukalapak had partnered with 13.1 million mom and pop stores – also called locally as warungs – through the Mitra business.

However, the company’s adjusted EBITDA stood at negative 372 billion rupiah (around US$25.7 million) for the quarter. Its total processing value – the gross merchandise value minus canceled orders – also surged 25% year on year to US$2.4 billion.

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The company’s cash position sits at 20 trillion rupiah (around US$1.4 billion) at the end of Q1 2021, lower than US$1.7 billion in the previous quarter.

In its financial report, Bukalapak also announced its commitment to invest US$5 million in Alpha JWC Ventures’ third fund. It had already paid US$1.5 million of that commitment by March 31.