British food delivery company Deliveroo has upgraded its full-year earnings guidance after a resilient first half in challenging market conditions that saw its total orders number fall 6%.
The company said it expected to make adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £60 million (€69.5 million) to £80 million (€92.6 million) for the year, up from its previous £20 million (€23.1 million) to £50 million (€57.9 million) forecast.
Profit Performance
Deliveroo, which recently announced the expansion of its services in Qatar, reported better-than-expected EBITDA of £39 million (€45.1 million) in the first half, as its margin improved to 1.1% in the period from 0.2% in the second half of 2022 and a negative margin of 1.5% a year ago.
'Over the last 18 months, Deliveroo has reached adjusted EBITDA profitability ahead of plan, and we are progressing towards our goal of generating consistent positive free cash flow,' the company said in a statement.
The company, which had £948 million (€1.1 billion) in net cash at the end of the period, said it would return £250 million (€289.4 million) of capital to shareholders.
The total gross transaction value of its orders increased 3%, as inflation in restaurant and grocery prices more than offset the drop in order numbers.
'Adapt to Conditions'
Founder and chief executive Will Shu said the company delivered a strong financial performance despite challenging market conditions.
"Looking ahead, we will continue to adapt to the evolving market conditions and execute against our strategy," Shu commented. "We remain excited about the number of opportunities we have to drive further growth in the medium and longer-term, and we have the team and resources to capture these opportunities."
Shares in the food-delivery firm are up 44% so far this year.
Additional reporting by ESM
