(Reuters) -South American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Inc missed analysts' forecasts after posting a fourth quarter net loss on Tuesday, despite a surge in sales.
The company reported a quarterly net loss of $46.1 million, missing the mean Refinitiv forecast of $54.04 million net income.
The Nasdaq-listed Argentine company's gross merchandise volume, a widely watched figure for the e-commerce industry's performance, rose 21% from a year earlier to $8 billion.
The company, present in 18 countries including Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, posted a more than 11.1% rise in active users in the quarter, to 82.2 million.
The company continued to post a growth in sales volume and active users, although at a slower pace than from a year earlier.
"Growing at this intensity on such a strong basis of comparison was very positive," André Chaves, vice president of strategy, development and investor relations at MercadoLibre, told Reuters, adding that the company might have new investments in Mexico, Brazil and Chile this year.
The company said it will open four new logistic centers in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo this year.
MercadoLibre's net revenue rose 56% in Brazil and 60.5% in Latin America, to $2.1 billion for the quarter.
Shares in the e-commerce firm, were down 5.3% in after-hours trading.