SINGAPORE ― Sea, the operator of Southeast Asia’s biggest gaming platform, said losses more than doubled in the first quarter on rising costs at mobile-shopping unit Shopee as it strives to lure more users with shipping and other promotions.

The Singapore-based gaming and e-commerce company said its net loss during the three months ended in March was US$215.6 million (S$290 million), compared with US$73.1 million a year earlier. Total revenue rose 65 per cent to US$155 million.

Sea, which initially modeled itself on China internet giant Tencent Holdings, has struggled since its initial public offering in October.

It has invested heavily to expand beyond games into payments and e-commerce. Growing losses have weighed on its shares, which were sold in the IPO at US$15 and closed at US$10.64 in New York.

The company’s “gross margin will remain pressured and losses will widen as it invests in growth,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Matthew Kanterman and Andrew Eisenson wrote in a note ahead of Sea’s earnings report.

More at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-15/singapore-s-sea-more-than-doubles-losses-on-e-commerce-spending