Blibli’s gross profit climbs 59% in Q3, EBITDA loss narrows 28%

Blibli’s delivery fleet / Photo credit: Blibli

Indonesia-based ecommerce major Blibli posted US$3.7 trillion rupiah (US$237.4 million) for the third quarter of 2023, which marked a 3% decline year on year. However, its quarterly gross profit for the same time frame climbed 59% to US$34.9 million.

Overall, Blibli recorded an 8% jump in its total processing value to US$1.1 billion, pushed by growth in its third-party retail services. While the company’s EBITDA is still negative, it improved by 28% to hit -US$52.6 million.

The company says gross profits were driven by a better product mix in its first-party retail segment, which refers to B2C online sales. Bibli has focused on more profitable categories for this segment and by sticking to this strategy, it expects gross margins to continue improving.

Blibli also improved its take rate from 4.2% in Q3 2022 to 4.8% in the same period this year.

See also: Why GoTo’s shares jumped following Q1 results, while Bukalapak and Blibli are flat

It also generates revenue from third-party retail (which includes travel booking platform Tiket.com), corporate customers, and physical stores. Net revenue in third-party retail grew over 2x in Q3 to US$18 million.

Kusumo Martanto, Blibli CEO and co-founder, noted in the earnings statement that having added more consumer electronics outlets over the past nine months, the company plans to “continue expanding our offline stores presence in many cities.”

At US$92.7 million, however, cash and cash equivalents are down 53% year on year.

Backed by Indonesian conglomerate Djarum Group, Blibli merged with Tiket.com and acquired supermarket chain Ranch Market to form a new “ecosystem” last year. It went public in November 2022, netting US$510 million.

In May, Blibli said it planned to issue up to 4 billion shares or 3.38% of the company as part of its management and employee stock option program, which provides compensation in the form of shares to the management team and employees.

Currency converted from Indonesian rupiah to US dollar: US$1 = 15,536 rupiah.