Deliveroo registers annual 88% increase in orders during second quarter of this year

Deliveroo’s orders rose sharply in the second quarter of 2021, up 88 per cent from the same period a year earlier to 78 million, the food delivery company said, only three months after it listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Orders in the UK and Ireland were particularly strong, growing 94 per cent to 38 million in the three months to the end of June. The group’s international segment grew 83 per cent to 40 million in the same period.

The gross transaction value, the amount spent by customers apart from tips, was also strong in the UK and Ireland in the second quarter, up 87 per cent to £921 million ($1.27 billion), compared with 65 per cent growth in its operations in the rest of the world, to £818m.

Meanwhile, GTV for the first half of the year hit £3.4 billion – up 99 per cent from the same period in 2020.

“Deliveroo has seen continued strong growth and consumer engagement in H1, and as a result of that plus increased expectations for H2 it is increasing the guidance for full-year annual GTV growth from between 30 per cent and 40 per cent to between 50 per cent and 60 per cent,” the company said.

Deliveroo’s debut on the London Stock Exchange on March 31 was called disastrous after the share price plunged 30 per cent on its first day of trading, wiping more than £2bn from Deliveroo’s £7.59bn valuation.

Its share price was up more than 4 per cent on Thursday at 8.54am London time, at £3.43, as investors responded to the upbeat sales figures.

Deliveroo said it envisages an opportunity to invest more in growth opportunities in the second half of the year, without elaborating further. Higher spending, along with the expectation that average order values would return to pre-pandemic levels, would weigh on profit margins, it said.

The company held its annual gross margins forecast of 7.5 per cent to 8 per cent, but said margins would likely come in at the lower end of that range.

Earlier this week the company said it would hire 400 software engineers, data scientists and designers over the next 12 months to drive innovation on its platform.

Deliveroo said the expansion would enable it to develop its logistics technology to help restaurants, delivery workers and customers.