“I’m thrilled by Farfetch’s continued track record of delivering aggressive market share capture as we accelerated two-year stack Digital Platform GMV growth to 97% in the third quarter, and remain on track to achieve our goal of full year Adjusted EBITDA profitability and GMV growth above our long-term 30% CAGR target. We are seeing strong industry traction behind our platform strategy. Over 1,400 brands and retailers are not only listing more luxury products than ever, but also driving record media solutions’ revenue in recognition of our highly valuable customers. And with accelerating interest in our Luxury New Retail vision, Farfetch Platform Solutions is shaping up to revolutionize the digitization of the luxury experience and unlock significant potential for Farfetch”, commented José Neves, Farfetch Founder, Chairman and CEO.

Third Quarter Results

In the third quarter of 2021, which ended on the 30^th of September, revenue grew by 33.1%, reaching 582.6 million US dollars, as compared to revenue of 437.7 million US dollars in the same period of last year. The increase was mainly driven by growth of 26.5% in digital platform revenue, totalling 397.1 million US dollars, and of 47.2% in brand platform revenue, adding up to 165.3 million US dollars.

Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) increased by 27.5% in the third quarter of the current year, amounting to 1.02 billion US dollars, on a comparable basis to the same quarter of 2020. The company observed that “while GMV growth accelerated on a two-year-basis, it increased at a lower year-over-year rate than the first half of 2021, reflecting strong comparative growth delivered in Q3 2020”. 

Specifically, in the third quarter of 2021, digital platform GMV revenue rose to 828.5 million US dollars from 674.1 million US dollars in similar period last year; brand platform GMV revenue totalled 165.3 million US dollars, as compared to 112.3 million US dollars in the third quarter of 2020; and in-store GMV revenue rose from 11.4 million US dollars in the third quarter of the prior year to 23.6 million US dollars this quarter.

In the third quarter of 2021, gross profit margin decreased 450 basis points to 43.3% from 47.8% in similar period last year. EBITDA margin widened to 1.1% from negative 2.7% due to decline in both general and administrative expenses and technology expenses as percentage of adjusted revenue.

Full Year Outlook

For the fiscal year of 2021, the company expects digital platform growth of approximately 33%, as compared to previous guidance of growth between 35% to 40%, and adjusted EBITDA of approximately 5 million US dollars.