Coupang plunged to a $501 million net loss in the third quarter after absorbing $248 million in costs from a logistics centre fire in Incheon.

Total net revenue rose 7 per cent year-on-year to $10 billion for the three months ended September 30, beating Wall Street consensus projections of $9.76 billion.

On a constant currency basis, revenue climbed 11 per cent, clearing management’s guidance of 8 to 9 per cent growth. That top-line momentum failed to protect the bottom line against sudden operational shocks and aggressive promotional spending. The business posted an operating loss of $450 million for the quarter, compared to a $202 million operating loss when backing out the direct fallout of the warehouse blaze.

The July fire at the Incheon fulfilment facility tore through both cost of sales and administrative budgets. Direct fire expenses hit $248 million, split between $95 million in cost of sales and $153 million recorded across operating, general and administrative lines. Consolidated gross profit fell 6 per cent to $2.6 billion, contracting the group gross margin by 364 basis points to 25.7 per cent. Stripping out the $95 million inventory and fulfilment write-down left an adjusted gross margin of 26.7 per cent, which still deteriorated 270 basis points from the same period a year earlier.

18 when excluding the fire impact. 2 per cent. Selling goods faster did not cushion profitability because the underlying delivery apparatus had to route around disrupted infrastructure.

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