Brief: Ola expects profit by year’s end

Photo credit: Ola

Ola reports positive return on each ride, operational profitability by end of 2018 (India). Bhavish Aggarwal, the ride-hailing firm’s co-founder and CEO, revealed the milestone in an email to employees. He said that Ola had become effective net take rate (ENTR) positive – ENTR being the commission collected from driver-partners minus costs like user discounts. Aggarwal added that the company aims to become profitable by the end of this year. Ola’s FY2017 operating loss widened by almost a third year-on-year to US$544 million, according to regulatory filings. Its operating revenue more than doubled to US$172 million over the same period. (The Economic Times)

Other news

“Recommerce” startup Aihuishou nets US$150 million funding (China). The Shanghai-based firm collects broken and unwanted smartphones plus other electronics from consumers, and then recycles them for onward sale. Tiger Global led the round, with JD among the other investors to take part. Aihuishou claimed a valuation of over US$1.5 billion as a result of this latest injection of capital. (China Money Network)

Ride-hailing services to face taxi regulations, more Gruber scrutiny (Malaysia). Ride-hailing apps like Grab are being brought under the same regulatory framework as traditional taxi companies, said transport minister Anthony Loke. Drivers have a year to comply with the new requirements, which Loke said are intended to “create a level playing field of competition among e-hailing and taxi drivers.” The government also revealed that it’s investigating the potential anti-competitive effects of Grab’s merger with Uber’s regional business after receiving numerous complaints about rising fares. (Reuters)

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