Revenue dips, losses shrink: Ninja Van eyes June profit

Ninja Van is one of the OGs of Southeast Asia’s third-party logistics sector.

In many ways, its experiences reflect the boom and bust of the industry, from raising over half a billion dollars during the pandemic to suffering from a deteriorating bottom line as a result of the ecommerce logistics price war.

What can the latest financial results of this Singapore-based logistics bellwether tell us about the industry as a whole?

Photo credit: Dr David Sing / Shutterstock

Profit at all cost

In order to turn a profit, Ninja Van had to put a break to “growth at all costs.”

Overall revenue was down by 8% year on year, according to its audited financial statements ending June 2024 (FY 2024).

Ninja Van CEO Lai Chang Wen tells Tech in Asia that the decline can be attributed to the slowdown in ecommerce growth after the pandemic and TikTok Shop’s temporary closure in Indonesia.

However, the drop in revenue was accompanied by a 38% improvement in its loss from operating activities, as the company shrunk its operating costs by 14% compared to FY 2023. Lai attributed this to adjustments made to Ninja Van’s delivery networks as it adapted to the post-pandemic reduction in ecommerce demand.

This reflects similar trends for other players in the logistics industry. For example, delivery comparison platform Easyparcel also saw a year-on-year decline in revenue in 2023, but it also narrowed its losses over the same period.

Lai expects Ninja Van’s entry into the B2B and cold chain logistics sectors to be a “significant contributor to our profitability in the near future.”

See also: Heavy lifters: the key players powering ecommerce in Indonesia

During a media preview of Ninja Van’s FY 2023 results last year, Lai told Tech in Asia that margins in the two segments were around 3x higher than ecommerce. However, these services were only introduced in April 2024, meaning that their full effect on Ninja Van’s profitability will only be apparent in FY 2025.

In the same event, the CEO said that he expected the company to reach EBITDA breakeven by April 2025, with net profit to follow six months later.

Lai now says that Ninja Van is “on track” to hit the EBITDA milestone by June 2025.

Regional shifts

Improvise, adapt, overcome