Ozon Holdings PLC

Reported Q3 2021 GMV including services was RUB108 billion ($1.5 billion), up 2.4x year over year; GMV growth accelerated to 145% year over year versus 94% in Q2. Orders increased 239% year over year to 56 million, while active buyers exceeded 21 million and active sellers reached 60,000. Underlying EBITDA on a like-for-like basis was 9.6% of GMV, up 70 bps versus Q2, driven by better gross profit margin and marketing efficiency; sales and marketing expense fell to 6.0% of GMV from 6.4% in Q2. Fulfillment and delivery cost per order declined from RUB393 in Q3 2020 to RUB330, and cash outflow from operating activities was minus RUB9.1 billion with capex of RUB4.6 billion. Forward guidance: management raised 2021 GMV growth guidance to 120% year over year; for Q4, they said fulfillment and delivery costs should be better as a percentage of GMV, but did not give specific profitability guidance.

Alexander Shulgin framed the quarter as Ozon’s best ever, emphasizing record GMV, orders, buyers, and sellers, plus improvement in unit economics versus Q2. He said the company’s strategy is to build a higher-frequency model through better assortment, delivery speed, logistics proximity, fintech, and adjacent verticals such as Express. His tone was upbeat and confident, especially around scale, market opportunity, and the company’s ability to execute into 2022.

Igor Gerasimov focused on the financial drivers behind the quarter’s improvement: better gross margins after optimizing 1P price investments, and marketing and sales expense declining to 6% of GMV from 6.4% in Q2. He said underlying EBITDA on a like-for-like basis was 9.6% of GMV, improved 70 bps quarter on quarter, while fulfillment and delivery cost per order fell to RUB330 from RUB393 a year ago. He also highlighted RUB100 billion-plus of cash on the balance sheet, minus RUB9.1 billion operating cash outflow, and RUB4.6 billion of capex tied to infrastructure expansion.

Analysts pressed on competitive moats, fulfillment capacity, Q4 margins, receivables, Express economics, advertising growth, and whether Ozon was fully funded. Management said the moat comes from logistics proximity, stock localization, fintech products like Ozon Card, premium subscription, and Express delivery; they also said regions are growing a bit faster than Moscow, though Moscow remains strong. On capital and profitability, management said they are comfortably funded with over RUB100 billion of cash, Q4 fulfillment and delivery cost should improve, and Express had about the same EBITDA impact in Q3 as in Q2. They also said advertising is becoming a larger opportunity, with the ambition to be a top-five online advertising player in Russia next year.