Retail in Asia

In Trends

China’s 58.com reports 103pc increase in revenues

China’s online marketplace 58.com Inc. reported revenues of USD48.2 million in the first quarter of 2014, a 103.3 percent increase from the same period last year.

The company’s unaudited financial results for quarter ended 31 March 2014 shows net income at USD2.3 million, compared with the net loss of USD4.7 million in the same quarter of 2013.

Michael Yao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 58.com, said the triple-digit revenue growth was due to high traffic growth. "Traffic rebounded quickly following the eight-day Chinese New Year holiday with total monthly unique visitors exceeding 200 million for the first time. While PC traffic continues to grow, 51 percent of traffic, defined as average monthly page views in the first quarter of 2014, came from our mobile platforms."

The company’s revenues from its online marketing services also continued to grow at a faster pace than its membership revenues that increased profitability despite the seasonally heavier spending on branding and marketing efforts during the quarter.

"We believe this demonstrates the effectiveness of our solid monetization strategy where efficiency increases as our business scales up," Hao Zhou, Chief Financial Officer of 58.com.

58.com’s membership revenues for the quarter reached USD27.5 million, an increase of 85 percent from USD14.9 million in the same quarter of 2013. The number of paying merchant members during the first quarter of 2014 also grew to approximately 441,000, up 77.1 percent from 249,000 in the same quarter of 2013. Meanwhile, online marketing services revenues reached USD20.5 million, an increase of 146.8 percent from USD8.3 million in the same quarter of 2013.