Online used-vehicle retailer Vroom Inc.'s e-commerce vehicle 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 vehicles sold jumped 74 percent to 11,022. Total vehicle sales, including wholesale and other vehicles, jumped 41 percent to 19,797. Total revenue increased 14 percent to $405.8 million.
But Vroom’s total gross profit per vehicle fell in the quarter, dropping $145 to $1,016. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 45 percent to $78.1 million.
Shares in the company plunged 28 percent to close at $31.61 on Thursday in New York..
"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-commerce vehicle 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.
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 vehicle sales soared 82 percent to 34,488.
Total revenue increased 14 percent to nearly $1.36 billion, as total vehicle 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.
