Shares of Jumia Technologies (JMIA +3.62%) spiked on Thursday after the Africa-focused online retail platform demonstrated marked progress toward its profitability goals.
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Broad-based gains
Jumia's quarterly active customers jumped 24% year over year 2.5 million in the first quarter. Those customers are also shopping on Jumia's marketplace more often. Orders of physical goods leaped 30% to 5.9 million.
Additionally, Jumia continues to attract new merchants to its platform. Gross items sold from international sellers soared 87%, driven by strong growth in China and Turkey.
In all, the e-commerce leader's gross merchandise value (GMV) -- the total value of all products and services sold on its platform -- grew 31% to $211 million.
NYSE: JMIA
Key Data Points
Jumia's revenue, in turn, increased 39% to $50.6 million. That drove a 26% improvement in the company's operating loss to $13.9 million.
"Higher volumes result in structurally better economics across our platform," CEO Francis Dufay said.
Lots of room for further expansion
Jumia serves eight African countries with a combined population of 600 million people. With roughly 6 million annual customers and 70,000 sellers, the online marketplace and logistics provider has a long runway for growth still ahead.
Jumia is currently dealing with higher shipping costs due to the energy crisis in the Middle East. Yet Dufay said the company remains on track to achieve its goals of "full-year profitability and positive cash flow in 2027."
