Carousell leans on recommerce as it turns Ebitda positive in FY2025

[SINGAPORE] Online classifieds platform Carousell has turned earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda)-positive in FY2025 on the back of higher revenue.

Revenue for FY2025 grew 18 per cent to US$141 million from US$119.3 million in FY2024, almost triple FY2021’s revenue.

Recommerce was the largest contributor to revenue growth, growing some 40 per cent in FY2025. The segment accounted for 45 per cent of total revenue in this period.

Recommerce refers to the buying and selling of pre-owned goods. Currently, the recommerce business is in four markets – Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia – compared to the classifieds business, which is in seven markets including Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Only Singapore and Malaysia have the luxury recommerce category with LuxLexicon. Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia have the fashion recommerce category, while Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have the electronics recommerce category.

“Carousell Group today is a fundamentally transformed business from the marketplace we started as. We’ve evolved from a classifieds marketplace into a multicategory recommerce platform, with multiple revenue streams and a growing transaction business,” said Quek Siu Rui, co-founder and CEO of Carousell.

Carousell is focused on growing revenue while maintaining cost discipline in executing its plan, to continue remaining Ebitda-positive, said Leung Shing Tai, chief strategy officer of Carousell. This improvement is not driven by one-off measures, but a multiyear business model transformation to build recommerce as a second growth engine on top of classifieds, he added.

“We’ll continue investing where we see long-term value, particularly in artificial intelligence and recommerce, while remaining disciplined in how we deploy capital,” said Leung.

Building trust and improving accessibility

As part of its recommerce strategy of reaching consumers at every point, Carousell has gone into the offline space, taking up physical stores. This is not a move into the traditional retail space but a complement to the online marketplace, said Leung.

SEE ALSO

Meta, Carousell show improvements at combating scams: MHA

Carousell sheds 76 employees in latest round of layoffs

Carousell’s Laku6 laid off 17% of workforce in January

Carousell acquires luxury bag reseller LuxLexicon, expands presence in luxury segment

More

With the offline stores, Carousell aims to make secondhand shopping accessible and provide services that are difficult to replicate online, such as inspection and trade-in.

“This is particularly relevant in categories such as luxury, mobile phones and fashion, where trust and convenience are critical to the purchase journey,” he added.

While recommerce sounds similar to thrifting, where customers buy used goods at a discount, he said the term is much broader.

Carousell’s efforts go towards building an ecosystem for secondhand buying and selling in a way that is trusted and convenient, he added. This includes integrating payments, shipping and professional services on the platform for both buyers and sellers.

There is room for growth in the recommerce space, as Carousell sees adoption across more categories.

“Our strategy is to build the infrastructure that adds more trust and convenience for secondhand transactions, rather than simply operating a marketplace which just connects sellers and buyers,” said Leung.

Priorities for FY2026

Carousell has three priorities for FY2026, the first being scaling recommerce across its markets as consumer adoption grows. The second is to continue improving the business through disciplined execution to keep growth and margins moving upward.

The third is to deepen the use of AI across the organisation and platform. For instance, customers can use AI to create a listing to sell an item on the platform.

“We believe AI will fundamentally improve how people buy and sell online by making listings easier, improving trust and safety, enhancing discovery and increasing operational efficiency,” said Leung.

When asked about potentially listing on the Singapore Exchange, Leung said the focus is firmly on execution. The platform is in a better position than a few years ago, with a diversified business and a strong balance sheet, he added.

“We’re always open to conversations with investors and partners who share our long-term vision,” said Leung.

For now, Carousell will tap the potential of AI and the recommerce business, which is still nascent in South-east Asia, said Leung.