GMV doubled to US$6.6 billion, Meikeduo's performance in the fourth quarter of 2020 grew rapidly

Founded in Argentina in 1999, the Latin American e-commerce leader Meikeduo provides services in 18 countries in Latin America and has built an "ecosystem" of six comprehensive services, including platform, store management, logistics and warehousing, payment, financial technology innovation, and advertising promotion. Its top three markets , Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, contribute more than 90% of the company's e-commerce sales.

According to a report by Global News on March 1, Meikeduo's financial performance in the fourth quarter of 2020 was strong. The highlights of this financial report are:

Net revenue of $1.3 billion, up 148.5% on a foreign exchange neutral basis, exceeding the previous guidance of $1.22 billion.

The total merchandise volume ( GMV) increased by 109.7% year-on-year to US$6.6 billion, of which mobile GMV accounted for 72.1%;

229.4 million items sold, up 109.5% year-over - year , with total item sales increasing by triple digits in all of Meikeduo’s major markets;

The number of active users on the platform increased by 71.3% year-on-year to 74 million;

The average delivery time was shortened by 30% ;

Mercado Pago , a digital wallet under Mercado , had a total payment amount of US$15.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 131%, a total of 659.3 million transactions, and 20 million active users;

l Mexico surpassed Argentina to become Meikeduo’s second largest market, with GMV exceeding US$1 billion in the fourth quarter ;

The Chilean and Colombian markets are also growing rapidly, with Chile growing the fastest, followed by Colombia.

However, although Meikeduo's record quarterly revenue exceeded expectations, the company's profit margin declined in the fourth quarter.

Meikeduo executives said in a conference call with analysts that the company's costs and expenses surged 36% and its gross profit margin fell 8.9 percentage points from the same period last year due to fierce price competition during the shopping festival and increased commodity and transportation costs .

Regarding Meikeduo's future investment plans, Stelleo Tolda, president of the e-commerce platform's commerce department, said in an interview with Bloomberg News that Meikeduo plans to invest another 10 billion reais (US$1.8 billion) in Brazil in 2021 to expand its logistics network, higher than the 4 billion reais investment in 2020.

Meikeduo has already established a new distribution center in Brazil and has a dedicated aircraft operated by an existing logistics company. As the number of new users on the platform continues to increase, Meikeduo will continue to work hard to shorten delivery time.

Tolda said that customer feedback on the Meikeduo logistics network has been very positive, and this is also Meikeduo’s strategic investment focus.

Meikeduo

Fourth quarter earnings