Coupang, a Seoul-based e-commerce firm, reported Tuesday its operating losses expanded to 121.5 billion won ($110.9 million) last year from 4.2 billion won a year ago.

Despite the steep losses, the company said its sales revenue increased 138 percent to 348.5 billion won.

In terms of sales, Coupang was the No. 1 player in the nation’s burgeoning e-commerce market, followed by WeMakePrice and Ticket Monster. 


However, the loss was brought on by a large-scale investment into logistics and delivery services, the company said.

“The loss was largely predicted when we made investment decisions,” Coupang said in a statement. “Compared to sales, the loss rate (34.9 percent) is considered moderate among e-commerce companies in their early phases.”

Other big players in the market also continued their sales momentum last year.

WeMakePrice came in second with 184.3 billion won in sales, a 134 percent increase from a year ago. Its loss decreased to 29 billion won from 36.06 billion won a year ago.

Ticket Monster reported 157.4 billion won in revenue, up 37 percent from the previous year. During the same period, loss decreased from 70.7 billion won to 24.6 billion won.

“We could cut spending on fixed costs while increasing sales overall,” said a Ticket Monster official.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)