'Similar to Korea'... Coupang Dominates Taiwan's Delivery Market, Achieves Record Sales Once Again

[Financial News] In the third quarter, Coupang, Inc. surpassed 12 trillion KRW in quarterly sales for the first time, thanks to the dual growth of Rocket Delivery in Taiwan and its luxury platform business. Bom Kim, Chairman of Coupang, Inc., highly praised the growth in the Taiwanese market. As large-scale investments continue, the company is also expected to focus on profitability strategies to improve its low operating margin, which currently sits in the 1% range.
According to Coupang, Inc.'s third quarter consolidated earnings report submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 5th, Coupang's revenue for the third quarter reached 12.8455 trillion KRW (9.267 billion USD, with an average quarterly exchange rate of 1,386.16 KRW/USD), up 20% from the same period last year (10.6901 trillion KRW, 7.866 billion USD). In terms of USD, sales increased by 18%. During the same period, operating profit was 224.5 billion KRW (162 million USD), similar to the first quarter of this year (233.7 billion KRW) and slightly higher than the second quarter (209.3 billion KRW).
In its fourth quarter earnings announcement last year, Coupang, Inc. projected an annual sales growth rate of around 20% for this year. The company achieved 21% growth in the first quarter, 19% in the second, and maintained a 20% growth rate in the third quarter. During a conference call, Chairman Bom Kim emphasized, "The structure in which customer spending steadily increases over time is the result of persistent investment to deliver world-class customer experiences over many years."
In fact, the number of active customers in the Product Commerce segment—including Rocket Delivery, Rocket Fresh, and Rocket Growth—reached 24.7 million, a 10% increase from 22.5 million a year earlier. Product Commerce sales in KRW totaled 11.0615 trillion (7.98 billion USD), up 18% year-on-year. Sales per customer in this segment reached 447,730 KRW (323 USD), a 7% increase from the previous year.
The record quarterly sales were driven in part by the rapid growth of Rocket Delivery in Taiwan. Chairman Kim commented on the Taiwanese market, saying, "Growth is accelerating, and this quarter once again saw remarkable sales increases compared to both the previous year and the previous quarter." He added, "The level of customer acquisition in Taiwan is similar to what we saw when building our retail business in Korea."
Coupang has begun to fully establish its Rocket Delivery last-mile logistics network in Taiwan to speed up deliveries, just as it has in Korea. The company also launched a Marketplace on the local Coupang app in Taiwan to expand its range of products, including food, daily necessities, and electronics. With an economically active population of over 12 million and a retail market worth 200 trillion KRW, there are expectations that exports of K-food and K-beauty products by small and medium-sized enterprises will accelerate in Taiwan.
The adjusted EBITDA for the growth business segment, which reflects the scale of investment, recorded a loss of 292 million USD (404.7 billion KRW). Previously, Coupang projected that the adjusted EBITDA loss for its growth business segment this year would reach 900 to 950 million USD. This means that up to 950 million USD (about 1.3 trillion KRW) will be invested this year, particularly in Rocket Delivery in Taiwan.
Gaurav Anand, Chief Financial Officer of Coupang, stated, "Given the continued growth momentum centered on Taiwan, we expect to approach the upper end of that range." He added, "This level of investment demonstrates our increasing confidence in the potential of each business segment."
wonder@fnnews.com Jung Sang-hee Reporter