Uber Technologies Inc on Wednesday reported a profit in the second quarter on one-time gains and said its pandemic-stalled ride-hailing business was showing signs of a recovery.
The San Francisco-based company reported profit of US$1.1 billion. Revenue rose to US$3.9 billion in the second quarter, more than double what it took in during the same period last year.
Net income for the quarter included gains of US$1.4 billion from the revaluation of its investment in Chinese ride-share firm Didi Chuxing Inc (滴滴出行) and another US$272 million from its stake in the autonomous technology firm Aurora Innovation Inc, Uber said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Uber made strong progress in attracting drivers and couriers back to its smartphone-summoned ride and delivery businesses, chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said during an earnings call.
“The majority of drivers who are coming back to the platform are what we call ‘resurrected drivers’; they’ve driven with us in the past,” Khosrowshahi said. “As vaccination rates go up, we are seeing the resurrected drivers come back.”
However, its delivery operations, including Uber Eats, generated the largest amount of revenue, with the unit continuing to benefit from trends that began during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns last year.
“Our platform is getting stronger each quarter, with consumers who engage with both Mobility and Delivery now generating nearly half of our total company gross bookings,” Khosrowshahi said.
He saw the Eats restaurant delivery service as a hedge of sorts, likely seeing increased demand in the event of new COVID-19 lockdowns that crimp Uber’s ride-sharing business.
Revenue from Uber’s rides and delivery units essentially doubled, while money taken in by a freight division that connects truckers with shippers jumped 65 percent, Uber said.
Enderle Group tech analyst Rob Enderle said that Uber’s earnings would likely remain on a bumpy road due to the pandemic.
“With the variants cutting through the population, Uber’s income is going to be pretty uneven at least for the near future,” Enderle said.
Uber shares on Wednesday were down more than 3 percent in after-market trades that followed the release of the earnings figures.
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