Uber posted its first profitable quarter on an adjusted basis since its launch in March 2009, driven by a recovery in its ride-hailing and delivery businesses in the July-September period, but its projected gross bookings fell below analyst estimates.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $8 million before interest, tax and other expenses in the three months to the end of September. This is compared to a loss of $625m in the prior year period and $509m in the quarter that ended on June 30.
“While we recognise it is just a step, reaching total-company adjusted Ebitda [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation] profitability is an important milestone for Uber,” the company’s chief financial officer, Nelson Chai, said.
Our early and decisive investments in driver growth are still paying dividends, with drivers steadily returning to the platform, leading to further improvement in the consumer experience
Dara Khosrowshahi,
Uber chief executive
“Not only did our mobility business recover to pre-Covid margins this quarter, our core restaurant delivery business was profitable on an adjusted Ebitda basis for the first time as well, bringing the full delivery segment close to breakeven,” said Mr Chai.
However, a huge drop in the value of Uber’s stake in Chinese ride-hailing company Didi caused a $2.4 billion net loss in the quarter.
This was primarily due to an unrealised loss of $3.2bn related to the revaluation of Uber’s Didi equity investment, the company said. It added that some of the loss was partially offset by its stakes in other companies such as Zomato, Aurora and Joby.
The net loss also included $281m in stock-based compensation expense. The company’s loss more than doubled compared to the same period last year, when it suffered a loss of $1.08bn.
The California-based company’s sales during the quarter soared 72 per cent on an annualised basis to more than $4.8bn, surpassing analysts' estimate of $4.4bn.
The company’s gross bookings surged 57 per cent year-on-year to 23.1bn in the third quarter — $1.2bn, or more than 5.4 per cent, up on a quarterly basis.
Delivery gross bookings increased 50 per cent during the period to $12.8bn and mobility bookings surged 67 per cent to $9.9bn.
Uber said its mobility gross bookings grew strongly in the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Africa but a decline was reported in Australia and New Zealand due to Covid-induced lockdowns.
In its future guidance, the company expects gross bookings of $25bn to $26bn with an adjusted Ebitda of $25m to $75m, below Wall Street expectations.
Uber said its drivers and couriers earned $8.6bn in the third quarter.
Its active US mobility drivers in the third quarter were up about 60 per cent year-on-year and improved through October, with 10 consecutive weeks of driver growth since the end of August.
“Our early and decisive investments in driver growth are still paying dividends, with drivers steadily returning to the platform, leading to further improvement in the consumer experience,” Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said.
“This is especially important as mobility reignites … mobility gross bookings are up 18 per cent over just the last two months and this Halloween weekend surpassed [the] 2019 levels,” added Mr Khosrowshahi.
The company said unrestricted cash and cash equivalents were at $6.5bn as of September 30.
Revenue in the US and Canada jumped almost 66 per cent yearly to about $2.6bn in the past quarter. It grew 29 per cent in Latin America to $390m and 80 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to $1.06bn.
It also increased about 131 per cent to $743m in the Asia-Pacific region.
Trips on Uber’s platform increased 8.6 per cent quarterly and 39 per cent on an annual basis to more than 1.6 billion in the third quarter.
The monthly active platform consumers reached 109 million, jumping 8 per cent quarterly and 40 per cent annually.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
