Record loss for Just Eat Takeaway despite order increase of 50 per cent

It has been an eventful first half-year for Just Eat Takeaway: the meal delivery company received 61 per cent more orders in the last six months, merged with the US company Grubhub and nevertheless posted record-breaking losses.

Losses reach a peak

Just Eat Takeaway received 61 per cent more orders in the past six months and had a gross turnover of 14.1 billion euros as a result. Since 15 June, the American industry colleague Grubhub has officially been part of the originally Dutch concern. Together, this resulted in a 51 per cent increase in orders.

Collectively, the two companies form “one of the largest online food delivery companies in the world”, says CEO Jitse Groen proudly. However, the company’s EBITDA losses have peaked. In the United States and Canada, the meal delivery company has had to lower its commissions due to the Covid crisis, while large investments have also led to results in the red.

Groen expects the results to improve from now on, although the profit margin will still be negative this year. The company also expects an annual turnover (the value of all orders) between 28 and 30 billion euros. To achieve this, the company wants to start paying more attention again to “old markets” that have been somewhat neglected so far. For example, Just Eat has regained market share in the UK, thanks to order growth of no less than 733 per cent in the first half of 2021.