Uber confident on profit as ride-sharing makes strong start to 2023
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UBER Technologies forecast quarterly core earnings above estimates on Tuesday (May 2), after a surge in demand for travel and food delivery helped the US ride-sharing giant report better-than-expected results for the January-March period.
The company is benefiting from its dominant position in key global markets as travel rebounds from a pandemic-induced lull.
A jump in the number of people looking to gain additional income is also helping platforms such as Uber squeeze out higher profit by offering lower incentives to gig workers, analysts have said.
“Our clear lead on driver preference has allowed us to better serve this growing demand: 5.7 million drivers and couriers earned US$13.7 billion (including tips) on Uber during the quarter, both all-time highs,” said chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi.
After a tepid performance in the last two years, “the rideshare category in the United States and Canada is now growing faster in 2023,” he said.
Uber expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) – one of its closely watched financial metrics – in the range of US$800 million to US$850 million for the quarter ending June. That was higher than analysts’ projection of US$749.1 million, according to Refinitiv.
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The dominant US ride-sharing company also forecast gross bookings, the total dollar value from its services, between US$33 billion and US$34 billion, compared with expectations of US$33 billion.
For the first quarter, Uber’s revenue jumped 29 per cent to US$8.83 billion, beating estimates of US$8.72 billion, mainly driven by a 72 per cent growth in the ride-hailing segment.
However, its gross bookings of US$31.41 billion came in slightly below the estimate of US$31.49 billion.
Uber said adjusted Ebitda came in at US$761 million, its highest on record as a public company. The firm has been reporting a positive figure since the third quarter of fiscal 2021. REUTERS
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