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KUALA LUMPUR: South-East Asia’s largest integrated car eCommerce platform, Carsome Group, aims to boost revenue by 20% to 40% in 2025 by expanding its business, particularly its ancillary services such as financing and insurance.
Chief executive officer Eric Cheng said with operations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines, ancillary services contributed 20% to its total revenue in the first half of 2024.
“So, our goal is to balance all key metrics from revenue and gross profit to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and net profit. We aim to achieve this balance as we move into the next year,” said Cheng.
Speaking to Bernama on the sidelines of the Tech in Asia Conference 2024, Cheng said Carsome’s ancillary services include financing, insurance and aftersales through Carsome Capital and Carsome Aftersales.
“This comprehensive use of technology enhances both core operations and ancillary services, resulting in a significant increase in ancillary gross profit by over 80% in 2023,” he said.
Cheng said the group will continue to keep its non-performing loan (NPL) levels low to ensure overall business health.
“We have consistently maintained a healthy NPL ratio, with less than 2% for retail financing and 0.1% for wholesale financing.
“This demonstrates our robust risk management practices, and we remain committed to keeping NPL levels low to support healthy business performance,” he said.
In other developments, Cheng said the group plans to forge additional partnerships, including a RM100mil loan from AmBank Group secured earlier this year.
In the first quarter of 2024, Carsome’s gross profit per unit increased by 48% year-on-year, largely driven by vehicle transactions and supported by its artificial intelligence-driven pricing engine, which uses big data for accurate price predictions.Cheng said the group has also achieved significant operational efficiencies, reducing customer acquisition costs by 37% by leveraging its strong brand equity and integrating Carsome’s comprehensive ecosystem services, streamlining the customer journey and enhancing cost efficiencies across the region.
He said Carsome is exploring various listing options, focusing on markets with high liquidity and potential for better valuations, including Bursa Malaysia.
He emphasised that the group is still assessing the right timing and locations to maximise shareholder value.
“We are monitoring market trends over the next 12 to 24 months to make an informed decision and are currently in the exploratory phase of evaluating potential listing options.
“While we have not finalised specific figures or detailed plans for the initial public offering proceeds, our focus remains on ensuring the timing and location align with our long-term growth strategy,” he added. — Bernama
