Africa focused e-commerce platform Jumia Technologies has posted a US$99.1 million loss after tax in 2024, a mild decrease from US$99.3 million loss in 2023, with its customer base shrinking by about 0.3 million amid market exits.
- •The total value of orders for goods and services on the platform declined by 4% to US$720.6 million in 2024 from US$749.8 million in 2023.
- •Revenue saw a 10% decline to US$167.5 million from US$186.4 million in 2023 which the company attributes to currency devaluations across its markets and a decrease in corporate sales in Egypt.
- •The news triggered a 27.5% single day decline in Jumia’s share price on Thursday, as the company reported a wider loss and lower revenue in Q4.
“The business is stronger and more efficient than it was just two years ago, and I believe we have a good opportunity ahead of us. Our priorities for the year are to build on this momentum by driving top-line growth and improving operational efficiencies,” Jumia CEO Francis Dufay said in a statement.
Jumia saw an 83% surge in sales during the Black Friday week in November with the daily average across Kenya and Nigeria surpassing 2023 numbers. The e-commerce giant scaled down its operating loss by 10% to US$66.0 million from US$73.3 million in 2023. Physical goods orders increased 18%, excluding South Africa and Tunisia, without increasing marketing costs, driven by robust customer demand and continued product expansion.
In October 2024, Jumia announced plans to exit South Africa and Tunisia to focus on markets with stronger growth in line with the company’s aggressive cost-cutting measures. As a result of the exits, the company incurred US$10 million in termination expenses.
Jumia’s liquidity position improved by US$13.4 million to $133.9 million, helped by net proceeds from an August 2024 at-the-market offering, reversing a US$106.9 million decline recorded in 2023. JumiaPay Transactions reached 3.3 million, an increase of 11% year-over-year on the back of increased penetration of JumiaPay on delivery in 2024. However, Jumia’s active customer base shrank to 5.4 million from 5.7 million in 2023 owing to market exits and economic headwinds.
While currency devaluation across key markets like Egypt and Nigeria impacted Jumia’s performance, the company mitigated the risks by holding about 67% of its liquidity in US Dollars.
In 2025, Jumia projects a 10%-15% gross merchandise value growth, between US$795 million and US$830 million, excluding foreign exchange impacts.
Jumia started its operations in 2012 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019.
