By Paul Sandle
LONDON (Reuters) -British meal delivery company Deliveroo reported better-than-expected core earnings of 85 million pounds ($109 million)for 2023, and expected further progress during 2024 with a move into positive cash flow.
The company, which competes with Just Eat Takeaway (LON:JETJ) and Uber (NYSE:UBER) Eats, said total orders fell 3% year-on-year but rebounded a touch in the final quarter to be unchanged on the year.
Shares in Deliveroo were trading up 1.7% at lunchtime, as its guidance aligned with market expectations.
Restaurant and grocery price inflation resulted in a 3% rise in the total value of orders to 7.6 billion pounds.
Chief Executive Will Shu said Deliveroo had made progress towards profitability, while giving customers faster and more reliable delivery.
He said he expected core earnings to increase this year to 110-130 million pounds.
"On a free cash flow basis, we were on the brink of break even in '23 and we'll improve on that in '24," he said in an interview on Thursday.
Deliveroo reported 7% growth in its gross transaction value (GTV) in Britain and Ireland, in line with the overall market, while it saw a 3% drop in its international markets.
However, it said the trend had improved steadily, and international had returned to growth in the final quarter.
Shu guided to 5-9% growth in GTV this year, in line with market forecasts that average 7.4%.
Deliveroo had 679 million pounds of cash on its balance sheet at the end of the year after returning 309 million pounds to shareholders via a tender offer and buy backs.
Shu said he would keep the cash position under review. "We'll consider different things but right now we're very happy with where we are," he said.
($1 = 0.7818 pounds)