Uber’s listing prospects go downhill
UBER lost $708-million (about R9.2billion) in the first three months of this year, although the car-hailing app said it was making progress towards profitability as revenues grow.
The company also said that its finance chief would leave, the latest in a string of high-profile exits at the tech giant as it grapples with a series of scandals.
Uber, which is privately owned and valued at almost $70-billion, does not have to release audited financials but is attempting to show it can become a viable business as it prepares to go public within the next few years.
The company said revenue in the first quarter of the year had increased 18% from the final quarter of 2016 to $3.4-billion, and its losses had decreased from $991-million.
The loss excluded stock-based compensation, often a significant accounting loss for technology startups. The revenue growth was much slower than three months earlier, although the fourth quarter tends to be Uber’s busiest.
A spokesman said that the narrowing loss “puts us on a good trajectory towards profitability”.
In recent months, Uber has sold its operations in China, where it was losing billions of dollars in a cutthroat ride-hailing war, in a sign that it is seeking to improve cash flow.
It says it has more than $7-billion of cash left, almost half of the $15billion raised in total, suggesting it can afford to continue losing money for some time.
Of greater concern may be the departure of yet another executive. Gautam Gupta, Uber’s head of finance, follows more than a dozen executives who have left this year.
Gupta joined in 2013. He has been in charge of Uber’s accounts since its chief financial officer (CFO) Brent Callinicos left in 2015, because the company never hired a direct replacement.
Uber is now believed to be looking for a CFO with public company experience, although its recent troubles have raised questions about whether it is in any shape to pursue a listing.
Recent departures include Rachel Whetstone, its head of communications who resigned in April, and Amit Singhal, its engineering chief, who was fired in a sexual-harassment storm. This week, the company parted ways with Anthony Levandowski, a former Google engineer who is at the centre of a lawsuit between Uber and Google.
Google’s driverless car division, Waymo, claims Levandowski stole DROP-OFF: Uber lost $708m in the first quarter of this year, a narrower loss than last year trade secrets that were then used to help Uber launch its own self-driving cars. It is also trying to hire a chief operating officer to help Travis Kalanick, Uber’s founder, amid questions about his competency.
Kalanick has admitted he needs help as Uber seeks to address claims that it has a culture of sexism, and as whistleblowers have revealed controversial tactics employed by the company.
An initial public offering is now seen as extremely unlikely this year or even next year. — © The Daily Telegraph, London