A screen displays the company logo for Uber Technologies Inc. on the day of it’s IPO at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 10, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
(Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter revenue that matched Wall Street estimates, helped by a steady rise in the number of people using its ride-hailing and food-delivery services.
Total revenue jumped 36.8% to $4.07 billion in the three months ended Dec. 31, in line with expectations of $4.06 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
However, net loss attributable to Uber widened to $1.1 billion, or 64 cents per share, from a loss of $887 million, or $1.98 per share, a year earlier.
Total costs surged 25.2% to $5.04 billion, as the company invests heavily to grow its food delivery platform, Uber Eats, and other businesses.
While the company’s ride-hailing business on its own would already be profitable, Uber is burning cash pursuing an array of other initiatives. Analysts have said Uber needs to reduce costs drastically to achieve profitability.
Gross bookings, a measure of total value of rides before driver costs and other expenses, rose 28% to $18.13 billion from a year earlier, compared to estimates of $18.03 billion.
The company said its monthly active users rose to 111 million globally, also in line with estimates of 110.78 million.
Reporting by Tina Bellon in New York and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila