Coupang, an e-commerce corporation, surpassed 40 trillion won in annual revenue for the first time last year. Growth businesses, including Farfetch and Taiwan's Rocket Delivery, drove revenue growth.
According to the consolidated earnings report submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 26th (Korean time) by Coupang Inc., Coupang Inc.'s revenue for the fourth quarter of last year was 11.1139 trillion won ($7.965 billion), a 28% increase compared to the same period last year. This is the highest since the beginning of the quarter.
During the same period, operating profit increased by 154% to 435.3 billion won ($312 million) compared to the same period last year. The increase was amplified by the receipt of 244.1 billion won from fire insurance for the Deokpyeong logistics center, which was reflected in the profit-related indicators.
Net profit amounted to 182.7 billion won ($131 million), a decrease of 87% compared to the same period last year. The net profit for the fourth quarter of 2023 temporarily increased due to the recognition of deferred tax assets and fluctuations in tax-related expenses, including a non-cash tax benefit of $895 million.
In the fourth quarter, revenue from growth businesses (Developing offerings) such as Farfetch, Taiwan, Coupang Eats, and Coupang Play was 1.5098 trillion won ($1.082 billion), an increase compared to 360.1 billion won in the same period last year. In particular, Farfetch, which completed its acquisition early last year, recorded its first adjusted EBITDA profit of 41.8 billion won ($30 million) in this quarter.
Revenue from product commerce, which includes Rocket Delivery, Rocket Fresh, Rocket Growth, and Marketplace, reached 9.6042 trillion won ($6.883 billion) in the fourth quarter, a 16% increase compared to the previous year.
Looking at the whole year, Coupang recorded an annual revenue of 41.2901 trillion won ($30.268 billion) last year. This is a 29% increase compared to the previous year and the first time it surpassed 40 trillion won.
Annual operating profit was 602.3 billion won ($436 million), a decrease of 2.4% compared to the previous year (617.4 billion won, $473 million). Coupang maintained a profit-making trend for two consecutive years after recording its first annual profit in 2023, but the profit size slightly decreased.
Net profit last year was 94 billion won ($66 million), a 95% decrease compared to the previous year, recording a net profit margin of 0.2%. The operating profit margin for Coupang Inc. was 1.46%, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year.
Although operating profit and net profit increased due to fire insurance payments in the fourth quarter of last year, Coupang explained that penalties from the Fair Trade Commission (1.628 billion won, second quarter) and losses from Farfetch impacted the annual profit size.
Last year's revenue from product commerce was 36.4093 trillion won ($26.699 billion), an 18% increase compared to the previous year. Revenue from growth businesses like Taiwan and Farfetch was 4.8808 trillion won ($3.569 billion), more than quadrupling compared to the previous year (1.0299 trillion won) and driving overall annual revenue growth.
However, the annual adjusted EBITDA loss for growth businesses was 860.6 billion won ($631 million), an increase of 35% compared to the previous year.
By the end of last year, the number of active customers in the product commerce institutional sector (customers who purchased a product at least once in the quarter) was 22.8 million, a 10% increase compared to the previous year (20.8 million). Revenue per customer was 446,500 won ($320), up 6% from the previous year.