TOP NEWS: Just Eat Takeaway 2020 loss widens despite revenue surge

(Alliance News) - Just Eat Takeaway.com NV on Wednesday posted a sharp revenue hike for 2020 but ...

Alliance News 10 March, 2021 | 6:59AM
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(Alliance News) - Just Eat Takeaway.com NV on Wednesday posted a sharp revenue hike for 2020 but was unable to stave off a widened loss during what was an "exceptional year" for the new food delivery tie-up.

The company was formed after Just Eat PLC and Takeaway.com NV merged in 2020. Takeaway.com won a bidding war for Just Eat in January 2020, fending off interest from Johannesburg and Amsterdam-listed media and internet investor Prosus NV. What followed was some regulatory wrangling, which saw the UK's monopoly watchdog initially force the duo to halt integration before clearing the deal.

In 2020, Just Eat Takeaway.com's revenue surged almost five-fold to EUR2.04 billion from the EUR416 million Takeaway.com alone registered in 2019.

Revenue was largely boosted by the merger, though Just Eat Takeaway.com was also helped by increased demand for its services as lockdowns meant restaurants, pubs and bars were unable to provide in-person dining for much of 2020.

The company posted a widened loss, however. Its pretax loss stretched to EUR147 million from the EUR88 million incurred by Takeaway.com in 2019.

There were hefty rises in courier costs, to EUR712 million from EUR70 million and order processing costs, which surged to EUR193 million from EUR41 million. Staff expenses more than quadrupled to EUR464 million from EUR112 million.

The company also provided earnings figures on a "combined basis". The company's merger was completed in April 2020 and the unaudited combined figures are adjusted to assume the deal was sealed at the start of 2019.

Combined revenue was up 54% to EUR2.40 billion and its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 18% to EUR256 million.

On a combined basis, the number of active customers rose 23% to 60 million in 2020 and orders jumped 42% to 588 million.

"2020 was an exceptional year for Just Eat Takeaway.com. Right before the completion of the merger between Just Eat and Takeaway.com, the world was hit by Covid-19. This brought unprecedented challenges to our restaurants, consumers as well as to our organisation and staff, but it also created tailwinds for our business. In the second half of the year, we increased our investments into the legacy Just Eat business significantly, building on our position as one of the largest food delivery companies in the world," Chief Executive Officer Jitse Groen said.

UK orders were 35% higher at 179 million, while orders in Germany jumped 62% to 112 million. In Canada, orders were 78% higher at 86 million and in the Netherlands, they rose 30% to 49 million.

"We expect a further acceleration of our order growth in 2021 compared with last year," Groen added.

The company will not provide an earnings outlook, however.

Just Eat Takeaway.com said: "We will prioritise market share over adjusted Ebitda and expect a further acceleration of our order growth in 2021 compared with 2020. Given the material impact of combining with Grubhub Inc on our plans for 2021 and the ongoing integration between legacy Just Eat and Takeaway.com business, we are not providing an outlook."

The Anglo-Dutch meal delivery firm in June 2020 struck a USD7.3 billion deal to buy US peer Grubhub. It would form the largest food delivery firm outside of China.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
Just Eat Takeaway.com NV 1,134.00 GBX -5.18
Prosus NV Ordinary Shares - Class N 28.48 EUR -0.35 -

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