Online food delivery platform Deliveroo reported a 36% rise in fourth-quarter gross transactional value as it hit a top-of-guidance 70% increase during 2021.
The company on Thursday said order numbers grew 10% in the three months to December 31 with the average value up 1% on a constant currency basis to £21.40. Guidance for gross profit margin was maintained at 7.5 – 7.75%.
“Despite a challenging backdrop, we continued to strengthen our customer proposition, widen our customer base and execute against our strategy. We are excited about the opportunity ahead and look forward to making further progress in 2022,” said founder and chief executive Will Shu.
Fourth quarter orders rose 42% to 80.8m, helping to drive orders for 2021 to £300.6m, up 73%.
“Despite the declines in the Deliveroo share price, the business has been doing well. In 2020, Deliveroo generated £1.2bn in revenues and is well on course to beat that this year. However, despite evidence of improving margins and new delivery tie-ups, the shares have continued to struggle,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
“Consensus estimates for full-year revenues are for an increase of 56% to £1.9bn. In Q3, Deliveroo raised its guidance for this number to between 60% and 70%.”
“The main concern for investors is rising costs, and while Deliveroo has seen orders surge due to its deals with Amazon and Morrisons, the competitive nature of the delivery market, and falls in the share prices of its nearest competitors, like Just Eat, hasn’t helped sentiment around the sector.”
