Uber Quarterly Sales Rose 61% to $2 Billion Amid Heavy Loss

Uber Quarterly Sales Rose 61% to $2 Billion Amid Heavy Loss
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Uber had a painful 2017, but the business managed to grow. According to Bloomberg, adjusted net revenue last quarter increased 61 percent to $2.22 billion from the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, the total value of fares grew to $11 billion that quarter.

Despite a turbulent year for the ride-hailing company, sales were $7.5 billion. But the company also posted a substantial loss of $4.5 billion. The latest financial report shows the company continues to increase its revenue while making progress on cutting its loss. Uber’s loss is based on generally accepted accounting principles, which includes writedowns, as well as the company’s enormous legal expenses.

Uber prefers to use a different number to refer to its loss: $2.2 billion. The figure leaves out some legal costs and stock-based compensation, as well as taxes, interest and other expenses. The company concluded the year with about $6 billion in cash, 13 percent less than the year before.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spoke with investors on a conference call. The company shared the numbers with technology news site the Information after the call and confirmed them to Bloomberg. Khosrowshahi said on the call that UberEats had reached a $4 billion gross revenue run-rate in the fourth quarter, which means food delivery will represent about 10 percent of Uber’s business.

Uber hasn’t made it easy to compare last year’s financials to years past. The company declined to disclose complete data for 2016 and over time has changed how it accounts for revenue. They have lost billions in China before selling its business there in 2016 in exchange for a 17.5 percent stake in homegrown rival Didi Chuxing.