PETALING JAYA: Online used car platform Carsome Group Inc, which reported its first quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) positive result for the first quarter of financial year 2024, is poised for sustained growth, capitalising on the scale of its business in the region.
In a statement yesterday, the company said its gross profit per unit (GPU), which marks profitability on a per-transaction level, had increased 48% year-on-year (y-o-y), driven by vehicle transactions, and its artificial intelligence-driven pricing engine, which uses big data for precise price prediction.
Group chief executive officer Eric Cheng said. “While we are on track to achieve the group’s first full-year profitability this year, we are also continuing our long-term vision of driving profitable growth and extending our leadership in the region and the industry.”
He added that Carsome will expand its services across the industry value-chain to provide customers with peace of mind throughout the lifecycle of their ownership experience.
“The untapped potential within our market is immense, and we are just beginning this journey.
“Our commitment is to lead and innovate within the automotive sector, creating opportunities that anticipate and fulfil the evolving needs of our customers across South-East Asia,” he noted.
He shared that the use of data analytics, digitalisation and automation in its ecosystem had also helped drive the group to profitability.
“This comprehensive application of technology enhances the effectiveness of both core operations and ancillary services, contributing to the GPU and leading to a marked increase in ancillary income per unit by over 80% in 2023,” Cheng said.
He added that it had achieved another milestone by selling more than 500,000 cars since its inception in 2015. “This was achieved in two years after selling 100,000 cars in 2021. Last year, the group sold more than 150,000 cars,” Cheng noted.
Meanwhile, its financing and insurance arm, Carsome Capital, registered more than 80% in revenue for 2023, resulting in profit before tax (PBT) year-on-year increase of three times.
“Carsome Capital was one of the group’s first entities to achieve PBT profitability, and 2023 marked its second consecutive year of net profitability.
“PBT growth was mainly contributed by its quality origination capability developed with the group’s transactional platforms and robust in-house underwriting capability driven by more than 500,000 managed transactions and collective data insights from its various listing and media platforms,” Cheng said.
Its digital monthly active users also grew to over 18 million from 2022’s 15 million users, through its content and media ecosystem, including brands under iCar Asia and Wapcar.