Online used-vehicle retailer Vroom Inc.’s e-commerce unit sales and gross profit set records in the fourth quarter, though the company reported a wider net loss on swelling expenses.
Vroom late Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $60.7 million, compared with a net loss of $42.7 million in the year-earlier period. E-commerce revenue surged 43 percent to $284.95 million, as online units sold jumped 74 percent to 11,022. Total unit sales, including wholesale and other units, jumped 41 percent to 19,797. Total revenue increased 14 percent to $405.8 million.
But Vroom’s total gross profit per unit fell in the quarter, dropping $145 to $1,016. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 45 percent to $78.1 million.
“Vroom had a strong fourth quarter, with significant year-over-year growth in our e-commerce business,” Vroom CEO Paul Hennessy said in a statement. “Inventory and marketing are scaling as planned, which is increasing the velocity of the Vroom flywheel, driving conversion and increased sales and revenues.”
The company’s total gross profit was up 23 percent to $20.1 million. E-commerce gross profit nearly doubled to $20.1 million and its gross profit per e-comerce unit rose 12 percent or $195 to $1,821.
Vroom, which went public in mid-2020, said that in January it closed on the acquisition of CarStory, an automotive retail analytics and digital services company that uses artificial intelligence to help make inventory predictions.
Vroom in December said it had agreed to buy Vast Holdings Inc., which includes CarStory of Austin, Texas, for $120 million.
Shares of Vroom were down 11.5 percent to $38.87 in after-hours trading Wednesday.
For all of 2020, Vroom posted a net loss of $202.8 million compared with a net loss of nearly $143 million in 2019. E-commerce revenue increased 56 percent to $915.5 million, as e-commerce unit sales soared 82 percent to 34,488.
Total revenue increased 14 percent to nearly $1.36 billion, as total unit sales rose 21 percent to 62,981. Vroom’s total gross profit in 2020 shot up 24 percent to $71.5 million. E-commerce gross profit ballooned 89 percent to $60.9 million.
