Uber Technologies Inc on Friday provided a glimpse at its earnings, saying it is growing strong while working to overhaul company culture at the scandal-dented ride-hailing service.
“We’re fortunate to have a healthy and growing business, giving us the room to make the changes we know are needed on management and accountability, our culture and organization, and our relationship with drivers,” Uber’s North America regional general manager Rachel Holt said in an e-mail statement.
The San Francisco-based company confirmed that its bookings more than doubled last year to US$20 billion, with net revenue totaling US$6.5 billion and an adjusted net loss of US$2.8 billion not counting China operations that it sold.
The privately held firm is valued at about US$68 billion, making it one of the largest “unicorns” in the tech world: It is not required to disclose earnings information the way publicly traded companies must.
Uber is in the process of hiring a second-in-command for chief executive officer Travis Kalanick, who remains in the driver’s seat as the company tries to plot a friendlier course with workers, riders and drivers.
Uber has been rocked by disclosures about a culture of sexism, cutthroat workplace tactics and covert use of law enforcement-evading software.
The company’s workforce doubled last year and is on a similarly hot pace for growth this year, executives said.
While Uber did not disclose earnings for the first quarter of this year, the company said they were in line with expectations.
Despite a #DeleteUber campaign that gained traction on social media as the firm grappled with controversies, growth is accelerating, with new riders joining and existing users taking more trips, executives said on a recent conference call with journalists.
Meanwhile, an Italian court on Friday lifted a temporary ban on the use of smartphone apps for Uber pending a definitive ruling in the case, which pitches the ride-hailing service against taxi drivers.
The use of various phone applications for Uber on Italian territory was provisionally banned last week by the court, which said they contribute to traditional taxis facing unfair competition and must be taken down from tomorrow.
Uber appealed, and on Friday the court agreed to lift the ban until a final ruling in the case.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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