SEOUL South Korean e-commerce company Coupang Inc swung to a net loss in the second quarter, due to operating losses at its luxury online platform subsidiary Farfetch and the estimated costs of a fine imposed by the domestic antitrust watchdog.

The New York-listed company, which is backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, posted a net loss of US$105 million for the second quarter, compared to a net profit of US$145 million in the same period last year.

Coupang bought Farfetch in a deal that provided the struggling online luxury fashion retailer with US$500 million in capital to keep operating. The acquisition was completed in January.

Farfetch has been hit by a slowdown in the luxury sector, which has complicated its efforts to make a profit on technology investments and prompted recent credit rating downgrades.

“On Farfetch, as we stated last quarter, our goal is to generate close to positive adjusted Ebitda on a run-rate basis by the end of the calendar year,” Bom Kim, Coupang’s founder and chief executive officer, told an earnings call.

“Though we’re still in the very early stages of our journey, we’re excited about Farfetch’s progress and potential,” said Kim.

In June, South Korea’s antitrust regulator announced the imposition of 140 billion won (US$101.65 million, or RM0.45 billion) in fines against Coupang for allegedly manipulating search rankings.

Coupang had said then that it did not believe its practices violated any South Korean laws, and would vigorously appeal the watchdog’s decision in court.

The company reported US$7.3 billion in net revenues for the April-June period, up 25% from a year ago.

  - Reuters