Sea posts $237.6m net profit in Q4, misses estimates

Photo credit: Sea Group

Sea announced a net profit of US$237.6 million for the three months ended December 2024, reversing from a loss of US$111.6 million in the corresponding year-ago period.

However, its earnings did not meet the estimate of US$239.3 million in a Bloomberg poll of 11 analysts.

Revenue for the quarter was US$5 billion, up 36.9% year on year from US$3.6 billion. This beat the consensus estimate of US$4.7 billion in a 14-analyst Bloomberg poll.

For the full year, Sea’s net profit more than doubled to US$447.8 million, from US$162.7 million. Its top line gained 28.8% to US$16.8 billion, from US$13.1 billion.

Shopee, Free Fire beat guidance

Shopee, Sea’s ecommerce platform, posted gross merchandise value (GMV) of US$28.6 billion for the quarter, up 23.5% year on year from US$23.1 billion.

Shopee’s Q4 revenue added 41.3% to US$3.7 billion on year, from US$2.6 billion.

For the full year, Shopee exceeded the group’s original guidance, as its full-year GMV added 28% to US$100.5 billion, from US$78.5 billion.

Shopee’s full-year top line was US$12.4 billion, gaining 37.9% from US$9 billion.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the ecommerce site was US$155.8 million for the full year, swinging back to the black from an adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of US$213.8 million previously.

Meanwhile, mobile game Free Fire, developed by Sea’s digital entertainment arm Garena, reported Q4 bookings of US$543.2 million, up 19% from US$456.3 million in the corresponding period in the prior year.

Its full-year bookings figure also beat Sea’s original guidance. For the 12 months, bookings were up at US$2.1 billion, 18.7% higher than US$1.8 billion a year ago.

SeaMoney now second-biggest unit

Digital financial services provider SeaMoney has become Sea’s second-largest business unit, overtaking digital entertainment.

Full-year revenue for SeaMoney was US$2.4 billion, up 34.6% from US$1.8 billion. Its adjusted EBITDA was US$712.2 million, climbing 29.5% from US$550.1 million.