Second corona wave gives Just Eat Takeaway wings

Meal delivery company Just Eat Takeaway‘s fourth-quarter figures for 2020 show that it is a big winner in the current corona crisis. The number of orders increased by more than half.

Total sales growth of 50 percent

These are pro forma figures for the group, that was only created in April 2020 by the takeover of British company Just Eat by Dutch company Takeaway for 7.8 billion euros. The figures therefore do not go any deeper than the growth trends in orders. We will receive the full results for 2020 on March 10th.

In the meantime, the group does provides some insight. The company is aiming for total sales growth of no less than 50 per cent with an EBITDA margin of around 10 per cent. A scorching growth rate, which can be attributed almost exclusively to the corona crisis and the associated lockdown measures. This is also evident from the trend in the growth figures. In the third quarter, the number of orders still grew by 47 percent. As more and more countries took new measures against the new upsurge of the pandemic in the fourth quarter, this growth accelerated.  

Grubhub

The total value of meals sold through the Just Eat Takeaway platforms amounted to 12.9 billion euros at the end of the year. That is up by 48 per cent when the figures of the two separate companies are compiled in 2019. The recent merger to form Just Eat Takeaway, combined with the exceptional corona conditions, makes it so quite difficult to estimate how sustainable the growth in the meal delivery segment is.

That situation will not improve any time soon, as the next acquisition is already looming. In the middle of last year, Just Eat Takeaway announced the acquisition of its American sector colleague Grubhub. This deal, which is worth the equivalent of 6 billion euros, should be completed in the first half of 2021.