The boss of the food delivery service Delivery Hero, Niklas Östberg, wants to be in the dark next year despite rising inflation and geopolitical uncertainties. “We are well on the way to profitability,” said Östberg at the general meeting of the Berlin company, which is represented in Austria with the delivery service Mjam.
In order to achieve an operating result at group level, Delivery Hero still has a few stones to clear: in 2021 there was a loss of almost 1.1 billion euros on its balance sheet.
“Sales growth alone has not been enough for us for a long time, we now finally have to make a profit,” demanded sustainability specialist Cornelia Zimmermann of Delivery Hero investor Deka Investment.
CFO Emmanuel Thomassin said several adjustments have been made to achieve this goal. These include minimum order quantities and dynamic delivery costs depending on weather and demand, as well as better utilization of the delivery fleet.
Delivery Hero has to leave DAX again
Due to the drastic price drop, Delivery Hero has to leave the leading German index DAX on Monday after less than two years. The paper lost about 66 percent of its value during the DAX period. On Thursday, it fell another five percent. Investors wanted certainty at this point and profitability was most important to them, Östberg said of the stock certificate crash. The demotion of Dax does not change the business model, according to Thomassin. This also includes the waiver of dividend. When Delivery Hero makes a profit, it is reinvested in growth or used to reduce debt, the CFO said.
Corona crisis brought boom to the delivery business
Delivery Hero is benefiting from the fact that people around the world have become accustomed to ordering their meals online and having them delivered to their homes during the corona crisis. Now the company not only supplies restaurant food, but also delivers groceries and other goods in many countries, but needs a dense warehouse network for that, which costs a lot of money. To get costs under control, Delivery Hero withdrew from the German market after a short hiatus.
Including the planned acquisition of the Spanish competitor Glovo, Delivery Hero is active in 74 countries. According to Östberg, the acquisition should take place at the beginning of the third quarter. After that, Delivery Hero wants to give a new look.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
