Shopee parent Sea chalks up second consecutive year of profits

Internet company posts record earnings on growth in e-commerce and fintech units

- Timothy Goh

Internet company Sea reported profits for a second consecutive year in 2024, buoyed by growth in its e-commerce and fintech units.

Shares of Sea, which is Singapore-based but listed in the US, closed up 7.14 per cent at US$132.31 on March 4 after it posted record earnings and revenue.

Profit came in at US$447.8 million (S$604.5 million) for the 12 months to Dec 31, 2024—175.2 per cent up on the US$162.7 million recorded in 2023.

Revenue surged as well, rising 28.8 per cent to US$16.8 billion, compared with US$13.1 billion in the previous year.

The group's revenue for the fourth quarter of the 2024 financial year was US$5 billion, up 36.9 per cent year on year.

All of its business segments contributed to the bumper 2024 result, with e-commerce arm Shopee leading the charge, followed by financial services provider SeaMoney and gaming and digital unit Garena.

Chief executive Forrest Li told a results briefing on March 4 that the group expects all of its businesses to remain profitable and "self-sufficient" going forward.

"This strong set of results validates our strategies: We made the right decisions, at the right time, and executed very well on them," he said.