Uber: Higher sales with slow growth

Author: Mario Schmidtgen
Date: 17.08.2018

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi continues to be positive

Although the company Uber is not required to publish balance sheets, the privately held company regularly publishes financial reports. The company has now published its figures for the second quarter of 2018. To summarize the financial report quite simply: higher sales and slower growth.

Compared to the same period last year the net sales increased by 51 percent to $ 2.7 billion. Bookings saw a plus of 41 percent, bringing the gross volume to $ 12 billion. But despite rising numbers, growth is slow. In the previous year, the mentioned key figures were 67 and 55 percent, respectively.

“We had another great quarter” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told Handelsblatt. “For a company of our size, we continue to grow with an impressive pace.” Khosrowshahi also mentions business lines that could be realized in the future, like the delivery service Uber Eats or the use of electric scooters or wheels. And the company is also on the upswing in other markets. “In India and the Middle East, which are high-potential markets, we are cementing our leadership” said the CEO.

The overall figures are also justified by Uber’s investment in the future. In the second quarter, pre-tax loss was $ 404 million. Compared to the previous year, this is a minus of 24 percent. In the first quarter, however, the loss was $ 303 million, bringing the adjusted net loss from $ 577 million to $ 659 million.

The driving service is one of the world’s highest rated private companies. In 2019, the company is expected to go public with a valuation of $ 62 billion. Around 66 percent of the losses should result from investments in autonomous driving.

Uber regularly has to defend itself against image problems and allegations of security holes and scandals. Entire cities are against the introduction of the driving service. Uber makes regular attempts to make its own corporate culture more transparent.