Television and online retailer Momo.com Inc (富邦媒體) last week reported its highest quarterly profit since it was listed on the nation’s main board in 2014, driven by steady growth in its online business-to-customer segment and a disposal gain from the sale of Taiwan Pelican Express Co (台灣宅配通) shares.
Net profit increased 76.6 percent annually to NT$780.5 million (US$27.92 million) in the first quarter, or earnings per share of NT$5.57, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Momo.com said that its non-operating gains totaled NT$101.5 million in the first quarter, including a NT$99 million disposal gain from Pelican shares.
Photo: Vanessa Cho, Taipei Times
Quarterly revenue rose 21.6 percent to NT$18.36 billion, the second-highest quarterly sales in the company’s history, thanks to its increasing market share in Taiwan’s retail sector as more consumers embrace online shopping amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said.
“The number of active users and orders remained at a healthy level of 20 percent year-on-year during the quarter, indicating that Taiwanese consumers’ e-commerce value preference continued to shift to fast and free delivery, one-stop shopping and a quality online shopping experience,” Momo.com said.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 42.6 percent to a record NT$1.07 billion in the first quarter, while the blended EBITDA margin came in at 5.8 percent, compared with 5 percent a year earlier, which the company attributed to stronger bargaining power with suppliers, and the effects of a larger sales scale and improved operating efficiency.
Momo.com, a retail subsidiary of Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), operates three virtual platforms — online shopping, TV home shopping and catalog shopping.
The favorable results for the January-to-March period came as the firm’s business-to-customer segment, which accounted for 92.3 percent of its total revenue in the first quarter, expanded 24.5 percent year-on-year to NT$16.94 billion, aided by strong sales from fashion and luxury products, consumer electronics and home appliances, as well as greater demand for beauty and healthcare, and sports and leisure goods due to the pandemic.
To maintain its leadership position in Taiwan’s e-commerce market, the company said that it would continue to scale up its logistics network nationwide, including distribution centers and satellite warehouses, which would help it lower costs and shorten shipping times.
Momo.com said that it would start construction of its southern distribution center in Tainan’s Sinshih District (新市) in the second quarter of this year, with operations beginning in 2023.
The company’s northern distribution center in Taoyuan’s Dayuan District (大園) opened in 2017.
The company also aims to expand its number of satellite warehouses to 30, from 22, by the end of this year, it added.
Satellite warehouses serve as delivery access points where products are pre-stocked to shorten delivery times and improve operating efficiency, it said.
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