Jumia 2022 revenue up 25% at $222mn
Operating loss drops to $227 million from $241 million in 2021; reduces 20% staff in Q42022
NYSE-listed Jumia reported a 25 percent increase in revenue at $222 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $178 million in 2021.
Operating loss was down six percent at $227 million compared to $241 million in 2021.
Annual active consumers reached 8.4 million for 2022, up four percent year-over-year, "supported by the stronger usage momentum in the first half of 2022," says an official release.
At the end of December 31, 2022, Jumia had a liquidity position of $228 million including $72 million of cash and cash equivalents and $156 million of term deposits and other financial assets, the release added.
Q4 show, 20% staff reduction
For Q42022, revenue increased seven percent to $66 million and operating loss dropped 41 percent to $50 million.
All the key parameters were down in Q4 - quarterly active consumers dropped 15 percent to 3.2 million, orders declined 12 percent to 9.9 million, gross merchandise value was down 14 percent at $283 million and total payment value declined 18 percent to $74 million.
Francis Dufay, CEO, Jumia
“In the fourth quarter of 2022, we started implementing our strategy to accelerate our path to profitability and further strengthen our fundamentals," says Francis Dufay, CEO, Jumia. "While the fourth quarter results only reflect a fraction of the actions we are taking, we are seeing early signs of success and remain focused on execution. In light of these encouraging signs, we expect a sharp reduction in adjusted EBITDA loss from $207 million in FY2022 down to $100-120 million in FY2023. We remain more than ever confident about the growth opportunity across our markets and are making fundamental improvements to our consumer value proposition which will help us drive sustainable long-term growth."
Jumia announced over 900 position terminations in Q4, "corresponding to a 20 percent headcount reduction. As part of our streamlining efforts, we have significantly reduced our presence in Dubai where certain management functions were located, reducing headcount by over 60 percent. Most of the remaining staff are being relocated to our African offices, closer to our consumers, sellers and operations."
The implementation of organisational changes resulted in $3.7 million in one-off restructuring cost, booked in the fourth quarter of 2022, the release said.
Reactions galore
Nick Coverdale, commenting on the results on LinkedIn, says in his post: “Another Logistics venture heading south and what I love is they find positives.
“Like the loss for 2022 was $237 million compared with $226 million for 2021 but the GOOD NEWS IS !!!!!!!!!! The loss for 2022 4th Q is only ( yes only) $54 million, an improvement of 30 percent YOY.”
Countering the view is Kris Kosmala who, in reply to Coverdale's post, says: "Africa is notoriously underserved by any type of last mile-commerce logistics. First problem - no addresses as you know in Hong Kong where a postal code pinpoints delivery points to within a metre of distance. These guys improvised and actually paid for the unique GIS innovation needed to deliver within 14 African countries."
Jonathan (Jay) Holmes, Deputy Director, Global Sales Strategy, ANA Cargo, says: "It’s just amazing how so much capital has been burnt up in these furnaces, and more keeps getting shovelled in."