Singapore-based Sea expects e-commerce revenue to double this year, sustaining its pace of growth, as South-east Asia's most valuable company counts on regional online shopping demand to persist after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Revenue rose to US$1.6 billion (S$2.13 billion) in the final three months of last year from US$777.2 million a year earlier, Sea said on Tuesday in a statement.
Net loss widened to US$523.6 million from US$283.8 million, as fourth-quarter sales and marketing expenses climbed 95 per cent to US$665.2 million, led by digital financial services.
Sea, which is backed by Tencent Holdings, has emerged as a stock market sensation since its initial public offering in New York in 2017, as investors bet the company can establish itself as a leader in e-commerce and gaming in South-east Asia.
Among companies valued at US$100 billion or more, the stock is the No. 1 performer in Asia since the start of last year and trails only Tesla globally.
It is also trying to establish fintech as a third growth driver.
Sea said on Tuesday it has acquired Composite Capital Management, a Hong Kong-licensed global investment firm, and will deploy US$1 billion towards Sea Capital, a newly established platform to manage its overall investments.
Composite Capital founder David Ma, a former partner at Chinese private equity giant Hillhouse, becomes Sea Capital's chief investment officer, and will report to Sea chief executive Forrest Li.
"Sea's growth prospects remain promising, riding on the growing digital economy in the region," Citigroup analysts wrote. "Guidance could prove conservative."
The pandemic is helping to spur demand at Sea's e-commerce business Shopee, with fourth-quarter sales increasing 178 per cent to US$842.2 million.
Sea's forecast of Shopee's 2021 revenue is US$4.5 billion to US$4.7 billion, up from US$2.2 billion last year.
Hit mobile game Free Fire is fuelling growth at Sea's digital entertainment service Garena, with sales last quarter rising 71.6 per cent to US$693.4 million.
Sea forecasts Garena's annual bookings - sales plus changes in deferred revenue - will increase to between US$4.3 billion and US$4.5 billion this year.
Its e-wallet service gained traction, with payment volume exceeding US$2.9 billion for the quarter and US$7.8 billion for the full year.
Last year, Sea posted total digital entertainment bookings of US$3.2 billion. Annual revenue at Garena rose 77.5 per cent to US$2 billion.
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