Indonesia’s Bukalapak posts 86% revenue growth in Q3

Indonesian e-commerce major Bukalapak posted an 86% revenue growth year-on-year in Q3 to IDR898 billion ($57 million), while revenue in the first nine months of the year grew by 92% to IDR2,589 billion.

Bukalapak continues to deliver positive business growth; 3Q22 TPV grew by 32% YoY to IDR41.3 trillion. About 74% of the company’s TPV is from outside the Tier 1 regions of Indonesia, where it continues to see strong growth in all-commerce penetration and digitizing trends among offline micro retail stores.

Mitra Bukalapak also continued to generate good growth; 3Q22 Mitra TPV surged by 23% YoY, to IDR19.7 trillion and 9M22 increased by 37%, to IDR54.7 trillion, from last year. Mitra’s growth was driven by an improvement in our product mix and a broader range of service offerings to Mitras.

Having experienced a sustained period of QoQ revenue growth, the third quarter saw the company focus on generating revenue from a lower cost base to deliver its first positive contribution margin.

In Q3, Bukalapak emphasized a reduction in costs and incentives whilst seeking to maintain revenue. The company has clearly demonstrated its ability to deliver on this, which is critical in helping the company reach profitability in the future and proves that the business doesn’t overly rely on spending, promotions and subsidies to generate growth.

Now that the company is confident that the business case is established, Bukalapak said it will re-focus on growing the top line, whilst continuing to deliver a positive contribution margin.

The company continues to focus on its strategy to deliver positive and sustainable growth, while simultaneously managing its expenses. The 9M22 general and administrative expenses (excluding stock based compensation) ratio to TPV was 1.0% versus 1.2% in the same period last year.

In addition to its continued efficiency improvements combined with solid growth figures, Bukalapak also has a strong capital position, IDR20.2 trillion of cash and cash equivalents and liquid investments which include government bonds and mutual funds as of the end of September 2022, which is more than 15 times the annualized 3Q22 adjusted EBITDA.