Grab's net revenue grew 70% in 2020, flags improvement in food delivery business

SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery firm Grab said its total group net revenue jumped by about 70 per cent year-on-year in 2020 and had recovered to comfortably above pre-pandemic levels.

"In addition, we've hit our growth and profitability targets, and reached several new milestones," Ming Maa, Grab's president, said in an emailed newsletter update issued on Monday (Jan 4) on the company's business.

Backed by global investors including Softbank Group, Grab has evolved from a ride-hailing app operator to a one-stop shop for services such as food delivery, payments and insurance, and emerged as Southeast Asia's most valuable start-up, with a valuation of over US$15 billion.

"We've continued to be disciplined with spending and prudent in stewarding our shareholder capital, with monthly EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) spend being reduced by approximately 80 per cent over the last 12 months," Maa said.

In October, Grab said its third quarter group revenue had risen to more than 95 per cent of pre-COVID-19 levels and its food business accounted for more than 50 per cent of revenue.

Grab's food delivery business, in which net revenue nearly tripled year-on-year in the third quarter, is expected to achieve breakeven by the end of 2021, it said on Monday.

Sources have said that investors in Grab and Indonesian rival Gojek are backing a merger of the two firms, but a deal is far from finalised. Both companies have talked up their strengths.