Deliveroo reports rising annual losses as costs jump

International takeaway food app Deliveroo on Thursday announced rising annual losses after costs rose by more than one third, offsetting a surge in home deliveries.

Loss after tax jumped 36 per cent to £308.5 million (€280.6m) last year compared with 2020, the British group said in a statement, adding the outlook was clouded by strong inflation and the Ukraine war. Revenue surged 57 per cent to £1.8 billion as consumers continued to order from home despite easing COVID curbs and controversy over treatment of its riders.

French prosecutors at an ongoing trial in Paris are demanding that Deliveroo be fined the maximum €375,000 for “undeclared labour”.

The group on Thursday added that its marketing and other investment costs, notably spending on technology, rocketed 75 per cent to almost £629 million.

Looking at 2022, founder and chief executive Will Shu cautioned over “headwinds due to inflationary pressures, the removal of economic stimulus and the broader geopolitical and economic impacts of the conflict in Ukraine”. But he forecast the company would reach breakeven between the second half of 2023 and first half of 2024.

Cost of marketing

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