Jumia Technologies AG, the e-commerce giant, reported a $20.1 million operating loss in Q3 2024, a 10 percent increase compared to the $18.3 million loss in the same quarter last year.
The 12-year-old company shared this in its financial report released on Thursday.
The company reported revenues of $36.4 million, a 13 percent drop compared to last year. However, in constant currency terms, revenues increased by 9 percent, showing strength in key markets despite a large currency depreciation in Nigeria and Egypt.
Jumia’s Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) for Q3 2024 was $162.9 million, down 1percent year-over-year but up 29 percent in constant currency. Despite revenue declines, the active customer base grew by 1 percent, and orders increased by 4 percent, indicating consistent usage despite external challenges.
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Stronger liquidity position and strategic repositioning
Jumia reported a stronger liquidity of $164.6 million, thanks to funds from its August 2024 At-the-Market (ATM) offering. This is an increase of $71.8 million compared to a $19 million drop in Q3 2023, giving the company more resources to grow while managing spending carefully.
In response to the results, Jumia’s CEO, Francis Dufay, stated, “We are encouraged to see continued resilience in our usage and business fundamentals despite the significant first-quarter currency depreciation headwinds in Nigeria and Egypt that continue to impact reported GMV and topline revenue.”
“We undertook several major operational steps in the quarter, including improvements to our logistics network and the consolidation of our warehouse footprint to enable greater efficiencies and increase supply capacity.”
“While these changes negatively impacted operations and expenses in the third quarter, we believe that these efforts position us well to scale and drive profitable growth as we expand our footprint beyond the major cities (‘upcountry’).”
Read also: Jumia exits South Africa, Tunisia to concentrate on Nigeria, other African nations
Jumia repositions for growth, exits two markets
As part of its strategic repositioning, Jumia halted operations in South Africa and Tunisia to focus on higher-growth markets, following a review aimed at improving logistics efficiency and consolidating warehousing.
“While these updates will have a near-term impact on our operations and financial performance, we believe that our efforts position the business well to scale on our path to profitability,” said Dufay.
Last month, the company announced its exit from South Africa and Tunisia to focus on markets with higher growth potential, such as Nigeria. It said this decision followed a review of operations in these countries, which represented a small portion of its business.
In 2023 and the first half of 2024, South Africa and Tunisia accounted for just 3.5 percent and 2.7 percent of total orders, and 4.5 percent and 3 percent of gross merchandise value (GMV).