Jumia posts Sh8b losses in Q4, 2021
By John Otini, February 25, 2022Online retailer Jumia Technologies posted a Sh8 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2021 as its share price dipped a whopping 84 per cent in the last twelve months.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Jumia’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) hit Sh8 billion, in what was a 107 per cent year-over-year increase.
Shares of the Africa-focused but U.S.-headquartered e-commerce company fell 32 per cent in November after posting poor third-quarter earnings report.
Scaling platform
“We are currently focused on scaling our platform with a fundamental and unchanged strategic objective of reaching profitability.
To get there, we have very clear priorities, accelerate usage growth, GMV consumers orders, increase monetization and cost efficiencies, continue developing JumiaPay,” Jumia CEO Sacha Poignonnec said.
Jumia, which is the first Africa-focused tech startup on the New York Stock Exchange when it listed there in 2019, offers an online market place for vendors and food sellers.
The company has however been closing down operations across multiple markets, which saw its gross merchandise volume (revenue from sale of goods) grow 20 per cent year-over-year to Sh37 billion ($330m) in the fourth quarter.
Jumia has warehouses in 10 countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania, and the Ivory Coast, and offers thousands of items to a public eager to buy quality goods.
In Kenya it is facing increases market share war as brick and mortar and emerging smaller players such as Jiji.co.ke begin to chip away its traffic.
Significant slowdown
Sales and advertising expenses at Jumia grew 159 per cent year-over-year in the final quarter of 2021, a significant slowdown from the previous quarter, which posted a staggering 228 per cent expansion in the expense category.
Jumia’s marketplace revenue fell 1 percent, declining to Sh3.2 billion ($32.4m) in the fourth quarter of 2021. It’s fintech arm, Jumia Pay, saw total payment volume grow by 29 per cent year-over-year to Sh1 trillion ($90.5m) in quarter four of 2021.