Uber narrows 2Q loss as company polishes image

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber is still struggling to make money while the ride-hailing service’s CEO deals with the headaches left behind by his predecessor.

The second-quarter results released Wednesday show Uber’s pioneering service continues to reel in more passengers and revenue, despite a variety of debacles that have tarnished its reputation and spurred some disillusioned riders to defect to its main U.S. rival, Lyft.

That has further complicated one of Uber’s biggest challenges — proving it can mature into a profitable business nearly a decade into its existence.

That’s something that CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has predicted Uber will eventually do, but for now it makes more sense to aggressively spend money on marketing, promotions and expanding into other areas of transportation, such as its recent investment in scooter-rental startup Lime.

Uber fared better from April through June than it did a year ago. After paying its drivers, covering promotions, and various other items, Uber recorded net revenue of $2.8 billion, a 63 percent jump from a year ago. The increase stemmed largely from fewer incentives offered to drivers and fewer discounts given to passengers.

The San Francisco company lost $891 million in the quarter, narrowing from a loss of $1.06 billion at the same time last year.

Gross bookings on the ride-hailing service brought in $12 billion, up 41 percent from a year ago. Excluding operations that have been sold during the past year, gross bookings surged 49 percent.

The second-quarter loss marked a return to form for Uber after it posted a profit of nearly $2.5 billion during the first three months of the year. That anomaly was generated by a windfall from Uber’s sale of operations in Southeast Asia and Russia.