Southeast Asian technology firm Sea saw its total revenue rise 22.8 percent year on year to $3.7 billion in the first quarter.
The firm said in a statement on Tuesday that its e-commerce revenue jumped 32.9 percent year on year to $2.7 billion in the quarter.
Its digital financial services’ revenue also climbed 21 percent year on year to $499.4 million.
Its digital entertainment revenue, on the other hand, fell to $458.1 million, from $539.7 million a year ago.
Overall, the group’s total gross profit was $1.6 billion, up 9.7 percent year-on-year.
Its total net loss was $23 million, as compared to total net income of $87.3 million a year ago.
Its total adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was $401.1 million, as compared to $507.2 million a year earlier.
“We are kicking off 2024 with a strong quarter. All our three businesses have delivered strong growth with an improved profit profile,” said Forrest Li, Sea’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Referring to the macro environment challenges in the past few years, he said, going through this period has made the firm leaner, fitter, and savvier.
“We are now much more confident of our ability to weather headwinds well, and adapt quickly to changing environments,” he said.
On the e-commerce front, he said Shopee delivered strong growth this quarter, achieving its highest ever quarterly orders, gross merchandise value (GMV), and revenue.
He also pointed to Shopee’s integrated logistics capability as a key differentiating factor of service quality, saying SPX Express had become “one of the fastest and most extensive logistics operators in our markets today, greatly enhancing our customer experience.”
On digital financial services, he said that SeaMoney has continued its strong growth momentum and profitability into 2024 while maintaining prudent risk management.
Commenting on future growth, he said the firm anticipated further growth for its digital financial services business throughout the year.
“As we healthily grow our user base, we will be able to offer a broader set of financial services to meet our users’ needs in the future,” he said.
On digital entertainment, he said the firm is pleased to share that Garena is back to positive growth, led by Free Fire’s strong performance across markets.
Specifically on Free Fire, he said in its 7th year, Free Fire is still one of the largest mobile games in the world by user scale, and remains highly effective in attracting new users.
“We are confident of building Free Fire into an evergreen franchise,” he added.
In conclusion, he said the firm has a clear roadmap for profitable growth.
“Our results in the first quarter have given us a strong start to 2024, and we are well on-track to deliver our full-year guidance,” he said.
Singapore’s Sea achieves first full year annual profit since IPO