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(Bloomberg) -- Coupang Inc., the largest e-commerce company focused on South Korea, handily beat profit estimates for the fourth quarter, even as sales grew more slowly than expected during the period.

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The online retailer’s net revenue rose 21% to $7.97 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with an average analyst projection of $8.08 billion. Operating income was $312 million, compared with an estimate of $167.8 million.

The shares gained 3.5% in late trading after closing at $24.17 in New York on Tuesday. They are up 10% for the year.

Founded in 2010, Seattle-based Coupang had 22.5 million active customers as of September. With initial backing from SoftBank Group Corp., Coupang has invested heavily to popularize overnight delivery in South Korea. It’s since made forays into food deliveries and streaming services, as well as acquiring London-based online luxury company Farfetch in January of last year.

Farfetch was near the break-even point on an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization basis in the third quarter, Chief Executive Officer Bom Kim said during a post-earnings call in November. He had previously targeted reaching that goal by the end of 2024.

Coupang is seeking growth in new arenas to better compete against Chinese peers such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s AliExpress and PDD Holdings Inc.’s Temu, which are expanding into South Korea.

Alibaba in December agreed to team up with E-Mart Inc.’s e-commerce platform to better compete in the country’s fast-paced online retail sector. AliExpress International and Gmarket are creating a 50-50 joint venture with plans for further investments in a deal that could value the new entity at about $4 billion.

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