Deliveroo has reported its first-ever net profit since launching more than a decade ago following cost reductions and a push into grocery and retail deliveries.
The takeaway delivery app reported a positive profit of £1.3m for the first six months of 2024, its first since 2013, compared to an £83m loss in the same period last year.
The London-listed firm also achieved positive cash flow for the first time. Deliveroo’s founder and CEO described them as “two major financial milestones”.
Last year, Deliveroo reported its first annual profit of £85.4m using adjusted EBITDA metrics, but this is the first time the company has reported net profitability.
During the first half of the year, Deliveroo’s overall gross transaction value (GTV) across the business rose by 6% globally and 7% in the UK and Ireland.
It also reported strong growth in its grocery category, which reached 14% of group GTV driven by an “improved experience and awareness, and further penetration in mid-sized baskets” of £30-£60.
Deliveroo has also been growing its retailer partnerships in the last year under its Deliveroo Shopping proposition in an attempt to diversify the business and boost sales.
Its current partnerships include Co-op, Waitrose, Asda and Morrisons, and most recently B&Q and The Perfume Shop.
Shu added that despite “uncertainty in the external environment,” he is “encouraged by the inflection” the company is currently seeing in consumer behaviour in many of its markets.
“We operate across attractive verticals in large, underpenetrated markets, and it’s clear that there is significant room for growth in our industry,” Shu said.