NEW YORK, NY, May 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire – Argus Research Co ("Argus") issues Equity Research Update on Society Pass Inc. (NASDAQ:SOPA).

Click Here to view full Argus Research Equity Research Update.

Summary:

The company's recent market cap near $40 million is less than one-time Argus' 2022 year-end revenue run-rate forecast of $50 million, well below the average multiple of more than six for a basket of comparable e-commerce peers.
In May 2022, Society Pass reported first-quarter 2022 revenues of $445,090, representing more than 4,600% growth over the prior-year period.
As of March 31, 2022, Society Pass held nearly $31 million in cash on its balance sheet, with no debt. In Argus' view, the company is capitalized sufficiently to execute on its robust M&A strategy, while maintaining flexibility to limit share issuances.
As of March 2022, Society Pass had amassed more than 1.6 million registered users and over 5,500 affiliated merchants.
Based on Argus' EV/revenue analysis, Argus arrives at a fair value estimate for SOPA of $10 per share, well above current levels.

Building a Loyalty-Driven E-Commerce Platform in Southeast Asia. Society Pass is an e-commerce company operating in fast-growing Southeast Asian markets. The company has built a strong e-commerce platform for consumer goods, luxury fashion, and food and beverage delivery, and provides related software and systems for participating merchants. It is also expanding into additional verticals, including, telecoms, digital advertising, travel booking, and food and beverage ordering.

Business Model. Society Pass acquires smaller e-commerce companies with high growth potential at a relatively low cost, and expands its user base across a robust product and service ecosystem. Society Pass plans to integrate these diverse businesses through a loyalty program called Society Points, which it plans to launch during the second quarter of 2022.

Current Portfolio. Its current portfolio is driven by the Leflair platform, which enables local businesses in Vietnam to sell premium domestic and foreign brands. Leflair features more than 3,500 registered brands, primarily in the fashion & accessories, beauty & personal care, and home & lifestyle categories, and has approximately 1.5 million registered users. In February 2022, Society Pass acquired Handycart, a Vietnamese online restaurant delivery app, and Pushkart, a Philippines online grocery delivery app. Society Pass expects Handycart to provide delivery from 500 restaurants in Hanoi by the end of 2022 and for Pushkart to double its registered user base to over 500,000 and drive app downloads to over 150,000 in 2022.

Significant revenue growth for the next two years. Argus forecasts 2022 revenue of $14 million and 2023 revenue of $38 million, which includes contributions from recent acquisitions, namely Leflair, Pushkart, Handycart, and merchant software business #HOTTAB. Argus expects additional acquisitions to close throughout 2022, including lifestyle, travel-related, and digital-advertising businesses. Helped by the Society Points program's launch, Argus expects the revenue run rate to be approximately $50 million by the end of the year.

About Society Pass

Society Pass is a loyalty and data marketing ecosystem that operates multiple e-commerce and lifestyle platforms across its key markets. Its business model focuses on collecting user data through the expected circulation of its universal loyalty points, Society Points. It seamlessly connects consumers and merchants across multiple product and service categories fostering organic loyalty. Since its inception, SoPa has amassed over 1.6 million registered consumers and over 5,500 registered merchants/brands on its platform. It has invested 2+ years building proprietary IT architecture with cutting edge components to effectively scale and support its Platform's consumers, merchants, and acquisitions.

Society Pass provides merchants with #HOTTABBIZ and #HOTTABPOS - a specialized POS technology solution, a comprehensive system for payment, loyal customer management, user profile analytics, and convenient financial support packages for small and medium-sized enterprises.

In addition, SoPa operates Leflair.com, Vietnam's leading lifestyle e-commerce platform, Pushkart.ph, a popular grocery delivery company in Philippines, and Handycart.vn, a leading online restaurant delivery service based in Hanoi, Vietnam.

For more information, please check out: http://thesocietypass.com/.

Media contact

PRecious Communications for SoPa

sopa@preciouscomms.com

Argus Research: Society Pass (Nasdaq: SOPA) – Fair Value Represents Significant Upside from Current Valuation