Uber’s loss widens to US$4.5b
Ride-hailing giant Uber’s fullyear net loss widened to US$4.5 billion (NZ$6.1 billion) in 2017 as the company endured a tumultuous year that included multiple scandals, a lawsuit alleging the theft of trade secrets and the replacement of its CEO.
The results also showed that Uber cut its fourth-quarter net loss by 25 per cent from the third quarter as new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi moves to make the company profitable ahead of a planned initial public stock offering some time next year.
The full-year loss grew from US$2.8b in 2016, a year with results skewed by a gain from the sale of Uber’s unprofitable business in China.
Uber also said its US ride-hailing market share fell from 82 per cent at the start of last year to 70 per cent in the fourth quarter. The company said the share has now stabilised. Gross revenue for the year rose 85 per cent over 2016, to US$37b.
While the losses are significant, the results still are positive for Uber with revenue rising and losses falling in three of four quarters in 2017, said Rohit Kulkarni, managing director of SharesPost, a research group.
The numbers show that Uber under Khosrowshahi is on a path toward profitability and a sustainable economic model, Kulkarni said.
‘‘If you draw that out further, a year from now, this could be a significant IPO waiting to happen,’' he said.
CEO Travis Kalanick was ousted in June and replaced by Khosrowshahi in August.
Last year was a particularly bad one for Uber with its reputation tarnished by the company’s acknowledgement of rampant sexual harassment within its ranks, a yearlong cover-up of a major computer break-in, and the use of duplicitous software to thwart government regulators.