Just Eat narrows losses but order numbers fall as lockdown boom unwinds

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Online food delivery marketplace Just Eat has narrowed losses despite a sharp drop in order numbers as the world exited the pandemic.

Just Eat bicycle

Just Eat’s active customer numbers slipped 4% to 94m

Just Eat posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of €134m (£112.1m) during the six months to June 30, down from €189m (£158m) during the same period a year ago.

Its adjusted EBITDA loss in the UK and Ireland was trimmed from €58m (£48.5m) last year to €18m (£15m).

On a pre-tax basis, Just Eat suffered an eye-watering €3.54bn (£2.96bn) loss during the six-month period – widening from €395m (£330.3m) the prior year – but that was fuelled by a €3bn (£2.5bn) writedown in the value of its US business GrubHub.

Group revenues inched up 1% in constant currencies to €2.78bn (£2.32bn). After removing order fulfilment costs, revenues grew 15% in constant currencies to €1.11bn (£930m).

Just Eat sales in the UK and Ireland grew 10% to €658m (£550.2m), making it the app’s fastest growing market during the six-month period.

Although Just Eat grew the number of partners it works with by 16% year-on-year to 680,000, active customer numbers slipped 4% to 94m and total order numbers dropped 7% to 509.4m. In the UK and Ireland, order numbers fell 7% to 132.1m.

Average transaction values across the group inched up €2 per order to €27.85 (£23.29), but total gross transaction value was flat at €14.19bn (£11.87bn).

Just Eat, which works predominantly with restaurant and takeaway partners in the UK, said it made “significant progress” in enhancing its grocery and convenience business during the half.

It now has more than 1,000 UK locations operating on the platform, including partnerships with Asda and Tesco-owned duo OneStop and Booker.

Just Eat chief executive Jitse Groen said: “After a period of exceptional growth, Just Eat Takeaway.com is now two times larger than it was pre-pandemic. Whilst this growth required significant investment, we have continued to focus on executing our strategy to build and operate highly profitable food delivery businesses.

“Our three largest segments, representing 90% of our gross transaction value, were adjusted EBITDA positive in the second quarter of 2022. Our path to profitability is accelerating and we expect to continue to materially improve our adjusted EBITDA in the second half of this year and to be adjusted EBITDA positive at a group level in 2023.”