Sea Ltd is set to record a profit for the year 2023-the Southeast Asian e-commerce group's first annual profitsince its initial public offering (IPO) in New York in 2017, CEO Forrest Li said in an interal memo to staff, reported The Business Times on Friday.
Li did not divulge details on Sea's Q4 earnings.
After recording a profit in the previous three quarters, last month, the company reported that its losses for thethird quarter of 2o23 stood at $144 million as the tech major chases a high-growth strategy, particularly in thefiercely competitive e-commerce space.
Shopee, the company's e-commerce arm, remained the biggest revenue driver for the group with its gross ordersincreasing by 23.6% quarter-on-quarter and 13.2% YoY.
The company's efforts to reduce spending were hindered by increased competition from TikTok, especially in keymarkets like Indonesia. After getting banned in Indonesia in September this year, TikTok returned to the countryin December following a partnership with GoTo.
“Competition remains intense, and we are still actively strengthening our market leadership.. l see 2024 as being ayear we can thrive in, especially since we are entering it from a position of confidence and financial strength,"Lisaid in an e-mail, according to The Business Times.
Shopee currently competes in the e-commerce market in Southeast Asia with Alibaba-owned Lazada and Indonesia's homegrown player Tokopedia. However,TikTok Shop is catching up quickly in the region although itfaces regulatory hurdles in SE Asia's largest market.
