Jumia: Gross Merchandise Value Rises by 58% in Q1 2019

• Jumia: Gross Merchandise Value Rises by 58% in Q1 2019

Jumia, the largest e-commerce in Africa and the first African startup to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange market, has finally released its financial results for the first quarter of the year.

Mrs. Juliet Anammah, the Chief Executive Officer, Jumia, shared the details of the company’s performance in Lagos.

According to her, the company grew its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) by 58 percent during the first quarter of the year to €240 million.

“Other highlights included marketplace revenue growth of 102 percent to €16m, and gross profits as a percentage of GMV growth of 6.5 percent in Q1 2019 versus the same period in 2018.

“Overall, Jumia’s operating losses for the period widened to €45.4m from €34.3m and negative EBITDA increased to €39.5m from €30.2m”, Anammah said.

Speaking on the allegations levied against the e-commerce giant by Citron Research, she simply stated that “being tagged as a Nigerian Company did not make us a fraud.”

The research company accused Jumia of hiding important information and some cases inflating numbers. The accusation has led to over 51 percent drop in Jumia market value, currently down from $46 a share to $19.91.

It’s market value now stood at 1.53 billion, down from $3.29 billion recorded in April.

“We will not be distracted by those who look to create doubt, to profit at our expense and that of our long-term stakeholders,” Jumia Nigeria CEO stated.

Anammah said the company grew its active users by 1.3 million in a year, between the first quarter of 2018 and first quarter 2019.

“Citron Report is misleading and mischievous because it focused on a month period as against the 12 months stretch. We look at our GMV the same way Alibaba looks at theirs. Gross Merchandise Value is gross prior to cancellation and returns in a twelve month period and that is the way we disclosed this,” she noted.

Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, who are both co-CEOs of the company, said: “Jumia delivered excellent results during the first quarter of 2019: strong GMV growth of 58 per cent leading to 102 per cent growth in marketplace revenue, year-on-year improvement of 356 basis points of Operating loss as a percentage of GMV and further development of JumiaPay, highlighted by the investment by and partnership with Mastercard,”

“We believe that Jumia is increasingly relevant for consumers and sellers in Africa. Looking ahead, we remain focused on our core operations, driving consumer adoption and engagement on our marketplace, increasing the penetration of JumiaPay, while continuing to improve our financial profile and making a sustainable impact on the continent.”