Jumia, one of Africa’s leading e-commerce platform has released its full-year 2017 financial statements results.
The result shows a Gross Merchandise Volume GMV growth from 357.5 million Euros in 2016 as against 507 million Euros (N225.2 Billion)recorded in 2017, representing a 41.8% growth in its GMV. The GMV measures the volume of sales over a given time.
Jumia also grew GMV by 64.5% to 197,9 MEUR (+113% in constant currency) in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with 12.,2 MEUR in fourth quarter 2016. Jumia marketplace platforms significantly scaled the number of orders with a YoY growth of +94% in Q4 2017.
The online market store also saw a growth of 41.8% Year-on-year from 357.5 million Euros in 2016 to 507.0 in 2017.
The growth according to the store was largely driven by improved macroeconomic conditions, as well as a stronger relevance of the marketplace, notably with a significant increase in the number of active merchants as well as products and services.
Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, Jumia co-CEOs commented:
We made great progress in 2017 with significant growth of the business, driven by technological innovations and improved relevance of the offering of goods and services. This growth is demonstrating the robust momentum in our core businesses and markets, and the increased adoption of online services by African consumers. We are also seeing good results from our strategy to further develop our logistics platform and our payment platform. Our customers continue to benefit from increased access to great services, quality products, improved customer experience and the tremendous convenience of being able to shop online.
2017 highlights
- Jumia reached the threshold of 550 million visits across Africa in 2017. Other groundbreaking figures for 2017 include the number of products available on the platform which skyrocketed from 50,000 in 2012 to over 5 million in 2017.
- The company launched its own payment platform, JumiaPay, to further facilitate transactions between merchants and consumers and tailor its solutions to specific local needs and requirements.
- Jumia launched a consumer-facing payment mobile application (`Jumia One´), enabling customers to easily access digital services such as Airtime/Data, TV, Utilities. Jumia One is gradually integrating more online and financial solutions to help consumers save time and money and access a large set of different services from a one-stop shop App.
- Over 8 million packages were handled through the Jumia logistic platform, a unique achievement. The company maintains close control over its logistics through a fully integrated network of local providers, using Jumia technology and data.
- Adjusted EBITDA1 for 2017 stood at a negative 120.1 MEUR, while EBITDA margin as a percentage of GMV was -23.7% (compared to -25.5% for the previous year), reflecting the continued investment in building the ecosystem as well as the continuous improvement in efficiency.
Other Notes:
On August 30, 2016, Africa eCommerce Holding GmbH, the holding company of Jumia, was merged into Africa Internet Holding GmbH (formerly trading under Africa Internet Group). In June 2016, all business models of Africa Internet Group were renamed around the Jumia brand. The figures shown for all periods referred to Africa Internet Holding GmbH
(1) Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as operating profit or loss before depreciation of property, plant and equipment, amortization of intangible assets and share-based compensation expenses.
(2) Capital expenditure is calculated as the purchase of property, plant and equipment plus acquisition of intangible assets.
(3) Net working capital is calculated as inventories plus trade and other receivables plus prepaid expenses minus trade and other payables. (4) The total value of “total orders” including shipping fees, VAT and before deduction of any discounts/vouchers
(5) Deviation to prior publications of GMV is primarily attributable to alignment of foreign currency conversion method to Jumia’s key financials and due to alignment of GMV definition to industry practice
(6) Total number of valid orders placed on the platform within the period.
(7) Deviation to prior publications of total orders is primarily attributable to alignment of total orders definition to industry practice
(8) Number of customers having made at least one order as defined in “total orders” within the last 12 months before the end of the period.
(9) Pro-forma cash position of EUR 245m includes cash on balance sheet plus capital commitments.
Jumia saw a huge success of Black Friday with more than 100 million visits, breaking all previous sales records across all topline drivers (new customers, orders, items sold, visits).
Jumia, formerly known as Africa Internet Group (AIG), was founded in Nigeria in 2012. The company has expanded its operations to over 20 companies. There are however reports that its parent company Rocket Internet is considering floating it through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) later this year or next year.