Coupang Inc., an online retailer, said Wednesday it swung to a net loss in the second quarter, mainly due to an estimated fine over allegedly using unfair search algorithms. Coupang posted a net loss of US$105 million in the April-June period from a net profit of $145 million a year ago, the company said in a statement. The company also turned to an operating loss of $25 million from an operating profit of $148 million over the same period. Sales, however, jumped 30 percent to $7.3 billion. Coupang said the company posted a net loss despite strong sales mainly because it reflected in advance an estimated 163 billion-won ($118 million) fine the Fair Trade Commission plans to impose and the operating loss of its luxury item platform subsidiary, Farfetch. In January, the New York-listed e-commerce firm acquired British online luxury fashion retailer Farfetch Holdings as part of efforts to expand its presence in the global personal luxury goods market. Coupang said the number of active customers increased 1 2 percent on-year to 21.7 million in the second quarter and its mainstay product commerce revenue grew 18 percent to $6.4 billion. Sales from its growing businesses, including e-commerce in Taiwan, food delivery service Coupang Eats and Farfetch, soared 483 percent to $892 million. Kim Bom, the founder and CEO of Coupang, said he still sees future growth opportunities and areas to develop in the $560 billion e-commerce market, noting customers are continuing to increase their spending on the platforms. Meanwhile, Coupang will raise its monthly WOW membership fee by 58 percent to 7,890 won from 4,990 won starting Wednesday to secure further capital to cement its leading status in the competitive local delivery market. Source: Yonhap News Agency