Just Eat Takeaway.com, Europe's largest meals delivery company, said that orders fell by 12% in the fourth quarter of 2022, pulled down by a 16% drop at its U.S. Grubhub division.
The company, which has been cutting costs in a bid to improve profitability, said in a trading update that it still eked out a profit at operating level for the full year 2022, sooner than analysts had expected, and will remain profitable in 2023.
Fourth-quarter orders fell 12% to 239.8 million, compared with expectations of an 8% fall among analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Larger Customer Orders
Amid an inflation-driven slowdown, customers ordered less frequently but had placed larger orders on average. Gross Transaction Value (GTV), which measures total value of merchandise sold on Just Eat Takeaway's platform, fell by 2% to €7.11 billion, in line with estimates.
The company said it had earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of around €16 million for the full year 2022, swinging from a loss of €350 million in 2021. Just Eat Takeaway also forecast an EBITDA of €225 million for 2023.
The EBITDA was driven by improved revenue per order, food delivery costs per order, and cost-cutting measures, the company said in a statement.
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Improved Profitability
"Our improved profitability and strong capital position strengthen our business for further growth and underpin our ability to both deliver on our adjusted EBITDA targets and invest" chief executive Jitse Groen said in a statement.
Analysts polled by Refinitiv had seen full-year EBITDA at a loss of €340 million.
The company reiterated its stance of exploring a "partial or full" sale of Grubhub, which it acquired for $7.3 billion (€6.76 billion) in 2021.
Just Eat Takeaway is due to report its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on March 1.
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