Bukalapak’s revenue climbs by 58% in Q3

Indonesian ecommerce powerhouse Bukalapak said its revenue jumped 58% to 484 billion rupiah (around US$33.8 million) in the third quarter of 2021, following an acceleration in its Mitra Bukalapak business, which focuses on serving SMEs.

The revenue even grew faster than the company’s total processing value (TPV) – the gross merchandise value minus canceled orders – that only increased 45% to US$31.2 billion in the quarter. It was caused by the hike in the revenue take rate from 1.43% to 1.55%.

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Revenue from Bukalapak’s Mitra business surged 258% to US$14.4 million in the quarter. The segement’s contribution to the company’s overall quarterly revenue also increased to 43% from 19% last year.

Revenue from the Jakarta-based firm’s marketplace also jumped 11% to US$17.8 million for the quarter, while its B2B procurement segment brought in US$1.9 million.

As of September this year, Bukalapak had 110 million registered users. It has partnered with 10.4 million mom and pop stores or warungs through its Mitra business, with 4.1 million of these stores being active this quarter.

Bukalapak, which counts Tokopedia and Shopee as rivals on the ecommerce front, saw its operating losses for the first nine months of this year narrow by 13% to US$84.9 million. Its net loss for the first nine months of this year also shrank by 19% to US$78.7 million.

However, Bukalapak’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) loss for the quarter slightly grew by 8% to 355 billion rupiah (around US$24.8 million) compared to the same quarter last year.

See also: Bukalapak’s financial performance in 8 charts

Significantly, the company’s cash position grew to reach 23 trillion rupiah (around US$1.6 billion) at the end of the quarter, following the firm’s public listing on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in August, when it became Indonesia’s first unicorn to do so. In the second quarter of 2021, its cash position stood significantly lower at US$191 million, reflecting the large amount of capital it raised through its IPO.

In September 2021, Bukalapak established two subsidiaries: Australia-based Buka Australia Pty Ltd and Indonesia-based PT Buka Mitra Properti (BMP). Bukalapak said that Buka Australia will be used for “non-store retailing activities,” but hasn’t so far clearly explained where BMP fits into its plans.

Currency converted from Indonesian rupiah to US dollar: US$1 = 14,330 rupiah