Yandex plans USD 400-500 mln investment on E-commerce in 2021

Russia’s Yandex, which reported a 2 percent rise in 2020 net profit, plans to spend USD 400-500 million on an e-commerce push this year to help annual revenue reach USD 4.1-4.3 billion, according to its finance chief, Greg Abovsky. He said the company expects growth to continue in services that benefited from the pandemic, such as media services, food delivery logistics and e-commerce.

Yandex’s adjusted net income stood at RUB 28.5 billion last year, excluding its Yandex.Market e-commerce venture. Revenues were up 39 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2020, contributing to a 24 percent increase in consolidated revenues for the full year compared with 2019. The company’s taxi segment, which includes its ride-hailing arm Yandex.Taxi, grew 49 percent in 2020 and its revenues of RUB 68 billion accounted for 31 percent of the company’s total.