First quarter | Uber exceeds expectations

(New York) Chauffeur-driven vehicle (VTC) and meal delivery platform Uber surged on Wall Street on Tuesday after reporting results and forecasts that exceeded expectations thanks to strong demand for its services.

Its stock rose more than 8% in electronic trading prior to the opening of the Stock Exchange.

The total amount of reservations made from the application rose 19% in the first quarter, to 31.4 billion dollars, driven by a 40% jump in demand for car trips with drivers, details a press release.

Demand for meal deliveries grew less rapidly, by 8%.

In total, Uber drivers made an average of 24 million rides per day and the number of active customers per month increased by 13% to 130 million.

For the group’s general manager, Dara Khosrowshahi, the fact that drivers and delivery people prefer to work with Uber rather than with other platforms has enabled his company “ to better meet the growing demand ”.

Some 5.7 million drivers and delivery people earned $13.7 billion, including tips, in the quarter.

The group’s turnover for its part jumped 29% to 8.8 billion dollars, an increase slightly more marked than reservations due to a change in accounting in the United Kingdom.

Uber cut its operating loss by nearly half to $262 million.

The net result of the group, which depends in particular on the fluctuations of the investments that Uber holds in other companies such as the Emirati platform Careem, for its part resulted in a loss of 157 million dollars.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, and depreciation (EBITDA), Uber’s preferred metric, increased more than 4x to $761 million.

For the second quarter, Uber expects EBITDA between $800 million and $850 million, higher than the $761 million expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

Even if Uber must adapt to an environment where “ available capital is more limited and interest rates higher ”, “ we are well placed to improve our competitive position in our main markets ”, commented Dara Khosrowshahi.