Sea (SE.US) Q3 revenue beats expectations, e-commerce business grows strongly
1min read Soueast, a Southeast Asian technology company, reported better-than-expected revenue in the third quarter, driven by significant growth in its e-commerce, entertainment, and financial services businesses. As consumers gear up for the holiday and travel seasons, Sea's e-commerce platform Shopee saw a surge in purchases in Southeast and Taiwan. The company also expanded its digital finance and entertainment businesses to meet the growing service needs in the region.
According to the report, Sea's revenue grew 30.8% to $4.33 billion in the third quarter, topping analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. E-commerce revenue grew 42.6% to $3.18 billion, digital entertainment revenue was $497.8 million, and digital financial services revenue was $615.7 million, all exceeding expectations. Sea's net profit in the third quarter was $153 million, compared to a net loss of $144 million a year ago; earnings per share (EPS) was $0.24, in line with analysts' expectations.
Total orders in the third quarter grew 24.2% to $2.8 billion. Sea's adjusted EBITDA was $521.3 million, far exceeding analysts' expectations of $480.9 million.
Forrest Li, Chairman and CEO of Sea, said, "It was another solid quarter, with high growth across our three businesses." He further noted that Shopee is on track to meet its full-year GMV growth expectation of 25%, and emphasized, "We are restoring high growth while improving profitability." He added, "We achieved positive adjusted EBITDA in Asia and Brazil this quarter. As we continue to focus on achieving growth, we expect Shopee to remain profitable in the future."
The Singapore-based company's shares rose more than 6% in pre-market trading on the news.