Carousell posts $49.5m in revenue in 2021 as growth slows

After tripling its revenue in 2020, online classifieds giant Carousell saw a more modest year-on-year growth of 21.8% to US$49.5 million in 2021, according to its most recent financial statements.

In the year ending December 31, 2021, the Singapore-based firm’s losses before taxes narrowed 33.5% year on year to US$43.9 million as it trimmed total expenses by 14.4% to US$95.4 million.

Carousell operates in eight Asian markets, including Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. It is also the firm behind marketplaces such as Mudah in Malaysia, Cho Tot in Vietnam, and OneKyat in Myanmar. On top of general classifieds, the platform also supports car and property listings.

While lockdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic led to “some headwinds” in a number of Carousell’s markets, Singapore and Hong Kong in particular recorded “encouraging” year-on-year growth, a company spokesperson tells Tech in Asia.

Its goods and services vertical was also a “key driver” of its revenue growth, the spokesperson adds.

In 2021, the firm acquired Singapore-based sneaker marketplace Ox Street, adding sneaker sales and authentication services to its mix, in line with its push toward “recommerce”.

Short for reverse commerce, which involves the transacting of secondhand goods, recommerce will “pave the way for the next phase of growth” as the firm heads toward profitability, the spokesperson says.

Unlike Carousell’s blockbuster merger with Telenor-owned marketplace 701Search in 2019, which had an immediate impact on revenue, its latest financial results suggest that the impact of its recommerce efforts on its top line will take time to materialize.

Classifieds advertising still a mainstay

Despite efforts to diversify its revenue streams, classifieds advertising – which comprise subscription fees that sellers can pay to access higher listing quotas or business analytics and other tools – continues to be a mainstay of the group’s business.

In 2021, revenue from classified ads contributed US$34.3 million or almost 70% of the total.

Direct media advertising, which comprises media sales, programmatic ads, as well as direct media services and partnerships, was its second largest income stream, taking in US$9.5 million in revenue last year.

Advertising services are set to become more of a core focus for the firm. In January, it launched Connect, a separate advertising servicing arm that helps brands to target users based on their purchasing, browsing, and listing habits on Carousell.

While the impact of Connect has not yet been captured in its 2021 financial statement, given that it only launched in January this year, Carousell says the new platform has “exceeded” expectations, particularly for brands whose products are bought and sold on its marketplaces.

Expenses narrowed, led by decline in employee expenses

$135m in the bank