Just Eat bumps up earnings guidance though order growth slows
Warm weather hasn't been a dampener for Just Eat: the online takeaway group bumped up its full-year revenue and earnings guidance on the back of a decent third quarter.
The figures
Total orders for the third quarter were 33.3m, showing growth of 34 per cent year-on-year (on both a reported and like-for-like basis).
UK orders were up 28 per cent in the quarter, despite a much warmer and drier summer than last year. That was a slowdown on the 2015 growth for the same period, which was 50 per cent.
Over 30 per cent of UK orders were now being processed on its Orderpad restaurant platform, with Just Eat saying it had been successfully rolled out across Spain, Denmark, Italy, Canada and Ireland.
The firm increased its expectations for full year revenues to £371m (at constant exchange rates), up from £368m and a range of £109-£111m of underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda). That's up from £106-108m.
Shares were down 0.5 per cent to 558p in early trading.
Why it's interesting
The recent tribunal ruling on Uber and its drivers being workers rather than self-employed could have an impact on other firms; notably in the food delivery sector. But Just Eat could be one of the beneficiaries (since Friday shares have gone up more than 10 per cent). Unlike the likes of Deliveroo, Just Eat doesn't hire couriers to deliver food orders; restaurants manage the delivery services.
So a solid third quarter could help propel it away from rivals even further.
Earlier this month the takeaway giant announced it had invested £3.5m in Time Out's associate tech company Flypay.
What the company said
David Buttress, chief executive, said:
Whilst we continue to invest in a number of technology and marketing initiatives and are starting to see the benefits of these in many of our markets, we have continued to focus on delivering the best possible service to our restaurants and customers.
Consequently, we are pleased to increase revenue and EBITDA guidance for the full year.
In short
A healthy update indeed with Just Eat upping its full-year revenue and earnings expectations.