Indian e-commerce firm Meesho’s quarterly loss spikes on higher expenses

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Jan 30 (Reuters) – Indian e-commerce firm Meesho’s quarterly loss widened sharply in its ​first earnings report since the blockbuster market ‌debut in December last year, as costs rose.

The firm’s ‌consolidated net loss widened to 4.91 billion rupees ($53.44 million) for the quarter ended December 31, compared to a loss of 374.3 million ⁠rupees a year ‌ago while expenses rose 44% to 40.71 billion rupees.

Revenue rose nearly 32% ‍to 35.18 billion rupees as India’s growing online consumer base looks for cheaper and more convenient ways ​to shop.

The company, backed by Softbank ‌RIC and Peak XV Partners, has carved out a niche for itself by offering low-priced products without charging sellers a commission, in a space that has giants such as Amazon.com ⁠and Walmart-owned Flipkart vying ​for customers in the world’s ​most populous country.

Consumer firms in India are witnessing a rebound in demand ‍after a ⁠lull period as tax cuts and festive demand have lifted spending.

Shares of the closed ⁠nearly 3% higher ahead of the results.

($1 = 91.8770 Indian ‌rupees)

(Reporting by Komal Salecha in Bengaluru; ‌Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)