Food delivery firm Deliveroo has reported a 70% increase in gross transaction volumes in its full-year 2021, however it expects growth to moderate to around 15% to 25% this year.
The UK-based firm reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of to £131.4 million (€156.65 million) last year, compared to a loss of £10.8 million (€12.88 million) in 2020.
Revenue was up 57% to £1.82 billion, largely driven by the increase in gross transaction value.
Over the course of the year, the business said that it strengthened its on-demand grocery position, with more than 11,000 partner sites live globally as of the end of 2021, compared to around 7,000 at the end of 2020.
It also recently launched Deliveroo Hop, a new rapid grocery delivery service.
Ahead Of Guidance Range
"We grew rapidly across all of our markets, with 70% GTV growth in constant currency – at the top end of our previously-upgraded guidance range," commented Will Shu, chief executive. "Particularly encouraging to me was our performance in the UK and Ireland, where we continued to grow our market share and achieved profitability on an adjusted EBITDA basis in a competitive environment - highlighting the strength of our consumer value proposition.
"We are pleased to have strengthened our proposition for our marketplace in 2021, increasing choice for consumers, offering riders more security in the form of improved insurance, and giving our restaurant and grocery partners opportunities to grow their businesses."
Looking Ahead To 2022
Looking ahead to the coming year, the business said that it expects gross transaction volume growth of between 15% and 25%, with a higher growth rate in the second half of the year.
It said that its guidance for the coming year reflects market uncertainties, such as inflationary pressures, post-COVID consumer habits and the broader impacts of the situation in Ukraine,
"We are excited about the opportunities ahead and have today laid out our plans on our longer-term path to profitability," said Shu.
"At the same time, this year it is clear that all three sides of our marketplace in Europe will face headwinds due to inflationary pressures, the removal of economic stimulus and the broader geopolitical and economic impacts of the conflict in Ukraine."
Analyst Comment
Commenting on Deliveroo's full-year performance, Dan Thomas, senior analyst at Third Bridge, said, "Regulation continues to be an overhang for Deliveroo and its peers in the food delivery space.
"Analysts want to see a clear pathway to sustainable profitability given today's tougher funding environment. Just Eat Takeaway’s cash-generative marketplace business clearly has an advantage in this area."
"In 2022 competition will remain very high in the traditional food and grocery delivery markets and this makes it unlikely that ROO will be able to reduce its high marketing expenditure in the near term. Where they should see improvement is in rider cost per order as network density improves – assuming we don't see unfavourable regulatory developments."
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest technology news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
