Just Eat Takeaway, one of the great exponents of home delivery in Europe, yesterday presented results for the first half of the year.
The Dutch group multiplied by seven the net losses, which were 3,477 million euros compared to 486 million euros in the same period of the previous year. According to the company, the business suffered the impact of the absorption of the American platform Grubhub, which it acquired last year for 7,000 million euros. Now, this division is facing the impact of the rate hike and the deterioration of a goodwill related to that great operation. In addition, as a result of the acquisition, the company increased its investment in marketing by 40%, to 414 million euros compared to 295 million last year. Along the same lines, it doubled personnel costs, to 649 million euros.
In terms of business volume, the group has experienced the impact of the end of the pandemic restrictions. According to the income statement, the number of orders fell by 7% globally, to 504 million, compared to the records obtained in the same period last year. Consequently, the value of transactions remained practically stable and turnover stood at 2,779 million euros, 1% more at constant exchange rates.
In response to the increase in losses and the unfavorable situation, the group decided to freeze new hires this year and lay off 390 people in its delegation in France. During the semester, it also announced the cessation of operations in Portugal, Romania and Norway.
Looking ahead to next year, the company expects to achieve a positive EBITDA (gross profit). The CEO of the company, Jitse Groen, highlighted yesterday that the group is already moving in this direction. From April to June, the regions that contribute the greatest volumes of business – Northern Europe, North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland – obtained this indicator positively.
Despite the multimillion-dollar losses and the lack of horizon to reach a net profit, investors responded to the results with increases in the stock market of 8%. However, the price of the share –located at 19 euros– is almost close to historical lows, far from 24 euros, far from its stock market debut in 2016.
