Tencent-backed 58.com expects revenue to keep rising for Craigslist-like online classifieds business as bid to buy rivals pays off
Online marketing platform buoyed after seeing revenue double in latest quarter, projects Q4 revenue may hit US$245 million
Tencent Holdings-backed online marketing platform 58.com expects its classifieds business to improve over the next few quarters, after it recorded a nearly 200 per cent increase in total third-quarter revenue.
New York-listed 58.com runs mainland China’s biggest, Craigslist-like online classifieds site serving local merchants and consumers.
Michael Yao Jinbo, the founder and chief executive at 58.com, reported on Sunday in the US that the company’s forecast revenue this fourth quarter is expected to range from US$240 million to US$245 million, representing a year-on-year rise of 199 per cent to 205 per cent, following solid growth in the quarter to September.
“Our topline [revenue] grew faster than expected [last quarter],” Yao said.
“Our core classifieds business continued to grow rapidly as it acquired more traffic and merchants and increased in size and scale.”
Beijing-based 58.com posted a 196 per cent jump in total revenue last quarter to US$212.94 million, up from US$71.96 million in the same period last year.
That growth was primarily driven by healthy sales revenues from Ganji, a rival domestic classifieds site that it purchased in April, and Anjuke, a major online real estate listing platform that 58.com acquired in March.