Key Takeaways
- Sea Limited reported better-than-expected quarterly results on higher sales at its e-commerce and financial services businesses.
- The Singapore-based consumer internet provider also posted its first annual profit since it began publicly trading.
- ADRs of Sea Limited pared early gains and remained in negative territory over the past year.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Sea Limited (SE) pared gained Monday after the Southeast Asian consumer internet company posted better-than-expected results on higher sales at its e-commerce and digital financial services units.
The Singapore-based firm reported a fourth-quarter loss of $0.19, with revenue increasing 4.8% to $3.62 billion. Both were above forecasts. Full-year net income came in at $162.7 million, its first annual profit since going public in 2017.
Quarterly sales at the company’s Shopee online shopping site rose 23.2% to $2.6 billion, and they were up 24.3% to $472.4 million at its SeaMoney financial services platform. Revenue slumped 46.2% to $510.8 million at its Garena digital entertainment business.
CEO Forrest Li said Sea said the company ended 2023 with “a much stronger balance sheet,” noting its cash position grew to $8.5 billion.
In a call with analysts, CFO Tony Hou said the company has seen a more stable competitive landscape over the past few quarters, and pointed out that Sea was able to gain market share while improving its economics despite facing “the most intensive competition.”
Sea Limited ADRs were up more than 5% at $53.75 as of 1:12 p.m. ET Monday but down about 18% over the past year.
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