Sea Group misses on revenue but boosts full year guidance

Singapore-based internet conglomerate Sea Group (NYSE:SE) recorded total GAAP revenue of USD 1.2 billion in the third quarter the company announced on Tuesday, marking a 98.7% increase year-on-year (YoY), but falling short of market expectations that predicted USD 1.4 billion in sales.

However, as Sea explained in an email to KrASIA, they actually beat revenue estimates as the company is now reporting revenue on a GAAP basis, while market expectations were for Non-GAAP revenue. Had Sea reported revenue on an adjusted basis, it would have been USD 1.66 billion, beating analyst expectations of USD 1.4 billion, according to the company.

The company’s net loss during the third quarter widened to USD 425 million from USD 206 million in the same period last year.

In the September quarter, Sea Group’s digital entertainment business increased its number of quarterly paying users by 123.6% YoY to 65.3 million, boosting the proportion of paying users to 11.4% compared to 9.1% in the same period of 2019.

The firm’s e-commerce operations benefitted from continued online shopping adoption in the region, as gross merchandise value (GMV) sold on Shopee increased by 102.7% YoY to USD 9.3 billion, while the order volume reached 741.6 million in the third quarter, compared to 321.4 from the same period a year ago.

In Indonesia, Shopee’s largest market, shoppers made 310 million orders during the third quarter, a 124% YoY increase. The platform’s livestreaming function, Shopee Live, recorded more than 48 million hours watched during the third quarter.

The company’s SeaMoney mobile wallet has also gained some traction, as 30% of gross orders placed on Shopee in October used SeaMoney for payment.

Sea Group revised its guidance for the full year of 2020 and now expects its digital entertainment business to generate at least USD 3.1 billion, up from the previously set midway point of 1.95 billion, while revenue from its e-commerce operations is now projected to be at least USD 2.3 billion, an increase from USD 1.75 billion.

(The article has been updated to correctly reflect the discrepancy in reported GAAP revenue vs Non-GAAP revenue market expectations)