Shares were up nearly 6 percent in after-hours trading.
The company's first-quarter outlook fell short of Wall Street
expectations as the Omicron coronavirus variant dampens travel, but Uber Chief
Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said business had started picking up into February.
"While the Omicron variant began to impact our business
in late December, mobility is already starting to bounce back, with gross
bookings up 25 percent month-on-month in the most recent week,"
Khosrowshahi said in a statement.
Uber's earnings release came shortly before the company's
first-ever investor day, to be held on Thursday in New York. Executives on
Wednesday said they would provide more details on their long-term strategy and
how Uber could expand its current business.
For the fourth quarter of 2021, Uber reported $5.8 billion
in revenue.
The California-based company reported adjusted earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, a measure that excludes
one-time costs, primarily stock-based compensation, of $86 million for the
quarter ended December 31, significantly ahead of analyst expectations for $62
million.
That compared with a loss on the same basis of $454 million
a year ago. It marked the company's second profitable quarter since it first
reported positive adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter.
Uber's delivery unit, largely made up of its Uber Eats
restaurant service, posted its first adjusted EBITDA profit of $25 million,
showing Uber's ability to scale the once loss-making operation against strong
competition.
Steady delivery bookings signal that the rebound in rides
has not come at the expense of food delivery, with consumers sticking to the
service even as the economy reopens.
Uber executives told investors on a conference call that the
company was increasingly able to gain new customers for its Eats platform
through its ride-hail business since the company merged its services into one
app.
"The diversification is really coming into play,"
Khosrowshahi said, adding that its business remained resilient even during the
Omicron wave thanks to delivery orders.
Khosrowshahi said the company had to improve its restaurant
base in the US suburbs to catch up with larger delivery rival DoorDash.
Rides recovery in the fourth quarter was driven by strong
demand for airport trips, which tripled compared to last year. Airport rides
are among the most profitable routes for Uber.
Uber also posted net income of $892 million, as it revalued
its stakes in Southeast-Asian Grab and self-driving company Aurora Innovation
Inc, just a quarter after it reported a $2.42 billion net loss driven by its
stake in Chinese ride service Didi and stock-based compensation.
The company significantly increased its marketing spend in
the fourth quarter, upping sales, and marketing expenses by 36 percent on a
quarterly basis. Uber launched several large Uber Eats advertising campaigns in
the US market at the end of last year.
Uber forecast lower-than-expected adjusted profit in the
first three months of 2022, as the Omicron coronavirus variant dampened travel
demand in January. Smaller US rival Lyft Inc issued a similar warning on
Tuesday.
Uber forecast first-quarter adjusted EBITDA to be between
$100 million and $130 million, compared with analysts' estimates for nearly
$150 million. © Reuters
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