Uber CEO expects investments to turn the company profitable in three years

Uber Technologies, whose losses have piled up in the quest for expansion, will be profitable in three years as its ride-hailing business matures and the company benefits from investments in areas such as autonomous vehicles, its chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said.

Bending the company’s financial trajectory out of the red would be a dramatic shift for the global ride-hailing service that loses billions of dollars a year. Speaking to Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Khosrowshahi said that even as Uber would continue to be aggressive about expansion, it is finding ways to be more efficient.

While Mr Khosrowshahi did not give a specific time frame, he said “we’ll be profitable before 2022”. The core ride-sharing business can be profitable “within three years,” he said, while also cautioning that “we will continue to make very aggressive investments.”

During the third quarter, the company lost $1.46 billion, up from $1.06bn during the previous three-month period.

Almost six months into his tenure leading Uber, Mr Khosrowshahi is attempting to reverse what has been an unprecedented time of turmoil. The company is facing various government investigations, allegations of sexual harassment and increasing competition from rivals around the world. Mr Khosrowshahi said his goal for 2018 is to “get back to normalcy” after the challenges left by former chief executive Travis Kalanick.

Mr Khosrowshahi said the company was investing heavily in autonomous driving technology and that it would begin adding the cars in some cities within 18 months.