Delivery Hero, the German parent company of food delivery service Talabat, is considering ratcheting up its investments as it seeks to ride first-half momentum to win more market share, its finance chief said.
The Berlin-based group raised its 2021 revenue and gross merchandise volume outlook, but tweaked its forecast for adjusted core operating margin to minus 2 per cent, at the lower end of its previous forecast.
“The small implied downgrade to consensus Ebitda [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] today comes at a difficult time,” Jefferies said after the earnings report.
The group returned to its home market Germany earlier this year amid a furious boom in rapid delivery there, pitting it against start-ups like Gorillas that are attracting lavish backing from venture capital investors.
With demand for at-home deliveries surging during the pandemic, Delivery Hero has invested extensively both in food delivery and in so-called quick commerce, which aims to deliver goods in as little as 10 to 15 minutes.
“We are considering investing a little bit more,” said chief financial officer Emmanuel Thomassin. He said the additional investments would be in core operations, while the €550 million ($645.77m) full-year investment goal for new markets remained unchanged.
The company, which operates in about 50 countries across Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, now sees revenue in a range from €6.4bn to €6.7bn for the year, compared with earlier expectations of €6.1bn to €6.6bn.
It more than doubled quarterly revenue to €1.55bn, on continued strong demand for its food and rapid delivery services, even as pandemic-related restrictions were eased across its markets.
Chief executive Niklas Oestberg said, however, it would take time before investments in quick delivery began paying off.
“Quick delivery will be a huge part of Delivery Hero. But the margins in groceries are incredibly low,” Mr Oestberg said. “In order to make it economical we need to innovate and improve. It is still a long way to go.”
When asked earlier about the 5.09 per cent stake in Deliveroo it took earlier this month, Mr Oestberg said it made financial and strategic sense, without elaborating.
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• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
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• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
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Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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Apple's%20Lockdown%20Mode%20at%20a%20glance
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
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His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
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67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
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69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
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Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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Record breaker
- The most total field goals made in NBA history, as well as the most consecutive games scoring 10 or more points
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
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Inside%20Out%202
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COPA DEL REY
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