GoTo 9M net loss widens to 20.32 trillion rupiah

INDONESIAN tech giant GoTo Group saw its net loss widen to 20.32 trillion rupiah (S$1.8 billion) for the nine-month period ended Sep 30, from 11.58 trillion rupiah a year earlier.

The company recorded higher expenses in the period compared to the same period last year. Sales and marketing expenses, in particular, were up at 11.27 trillion rupiah, from 4.72 trillion rupiah.

Net revenue for the period, however, rose to 7.97 trillion rupiah, from 3.4 trillion rupiah a year ago.

Meanwhile, net revenue for the third quarter ended Sep 30 was up at 4.57 trillion rupiah, from 1.44 trillion rupiah. Gross revenue in the quarter was also 30 per cent higher on year at 5.89 trillion rupiah, the company said on Monday (Nov 21).

In the quarter, GoTo had “continued to drive monetisation, incentive optimisation and cost reductions”, it said.

GoTo also said its on-demand services segment had been a key driver of growth in the quarter, amid continued improvements in mobility services on the back of the return-to-office and back-to-school demand.

Gross revenue for its on-demand services segment grew 31 per cent on year to 3.5 trillion rupiah in Q3, while contribution margin for the segment also turned positive in September, ahead of schedule, the company noted.

For its e-commerce segment, gross revenue grew 27 per cent to 2.2 trillion rupiah.

Meanwhile, gross revenue for its financial technology segment rose 48 per cent to 0.4 trillion rupiah.

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Andre Soelistyo, chief executive of GoTo, noted that the group had a strong third quarter amid the company’s “product-led focus on high-quality users, alongside our disciplined approach to cost management”.

He said: “The financial and operational results we achieved in the third quarter provide reassurance that we can accelerate even faster towards profitability, and we will continue to play to our strengths as the largest digital ecosystem in Indonesia.”

Last Friday, GoTo said it will lay off 1,300 employees, including some in Singapore, in a bid to cut costs and reach financial self-sufficiency more quickly amid the volatile economic environment.

Shares of GoTo closed at 210 rupiah on the Jakarta Stock Exchange on Monday, down 5.4 per cent.