Sales at Coupang Inc., the U.S. parent of Coupang, hit an all-time high last year but did not top 50 trillion won. The fourth-quarter results worsened after a massive personal data leak on Nov. 29.
Coupang Inc. disclosed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 27th that full-year sales last year were 49.1197 trillion won ($34.534 billion), up about 18% from the prior year (41.2901 trillion won). Net income was 303 billion won ($214 million). It fell short of market expectations that annual sales would exceed 50 trillion won.
Profitability also deteriorated. Full-year operating profit last year was 679 billion won ($473 million), up 12.7% from the prior year (602.3 billion won), but the operating margin fell to 1.38% from 1.46%. In 2023, when it recorded its first annual operating surplus, the margin was 1.93%, marking a decline in operating margin for three consecutive years through last year.
Weak fourth-quarter results appear to have weighed on the annual performance. Coupang Inc.'s fourth-quarter sales last year were 12.8103 trillion won ($8.835 billion), up 15.3%, but operating profit was tallied at 11.5 billion won ($8 million), down 97%. The operating margin for the fourth quarter last year was 0.09%. It posted a net loss of about 37.7 billion won ($26 million), turning to a loss from net income of 182.7 billion won ($127.58 million) a year earlier. Earnings per share (EPS) came to $0.01.
Coupang Inc. said the personal data leak that occurred in November last year began to affect results from December. A Coupang Inc. official said, "This incident had a negative impact on fourth-quarter sales growth, active customers, Wow membership, and profitability," but added, "The impact on recent growth rates has stabilized, and a recovery has been underway since the first quarter of this year."
In the fourth quarter last year, active customers (those who purchased at least once during the quarter) in Coupang Inc.'s Product Commerce (Rocket Delivery and Fresh) segment were 24.6 million, up 8% from a year earlier (22.8 million). However, that was down by 100,000 from the previous third quarter (24.7 million). Sales per customer were 436,400 won ($301), up 3%.