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Hello reader,
There’s just something about spending time by the sea that brings me peace.
Whether the water is warm or cold, calm or squally, looking out across vast oceans is a soothing experience. Gazing out at something so much bigger than I can fathom certainly helps make whatever’s troubling me seem pretty trivial.
Swimming in those same waters only heightens the experience. There’s something freeing about letting the waves crash around you and letting go of control.
In Southeast Asia’s tech world, Sea Group isn’t controlled by the waves – it makes them. The firm’s first quarter of the year was a lot smoother than that segue, as our featured story on its financial health shows.
Today we look at:
- Sea Group buoyed by solid Q1 results
- Grab records an all-time high in adjusted EBITDA
- Other newsy highlights such as TikTok creators filing suit to stop the app from being banned in the US and Indian insurtech firm Go Digit raising US$141 million ahead of its IPO.
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Come see Sea’s financials
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Sea Group’s first-quarter financial results are out, and it’s safe to say that Southeast Asia’s biggest internet firm is off to a strong start for 2024.
The company recorded improvements to both its top line and bottom line amid solid revenue growth from ecommerce arm Shopee.
- Where Shopee goes, Sea follows: Total revenue for Q1 hit US$3.7 billion, an increase of 23% from the same period in 2023. Much of the revenue growth was driven by Shopee, which saw its GAAP revenue hit US$2.7 billion, up 33% year on year.
- : While revenue was up on a year-on-year basis, Sea’s adjusted EBITDA for the opening quarter of 2024 did fall by 21% to US$401 million compared to Q1 2023. However, this was a marked improvement from the fourth quarter of 2023, when the figure stood at US$126.7 million.
- Show me the money: SeaMoney, the company’s digital financial services unit, also recorded revenue growth, up 21% year on year to US$499 million. The division’s adjusted EBITDA increased by 50% from Q1 2023 to US$149 million.
Read more: Sea Group’s financial health in 7 charts
Grab in the black
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