IPO-bound Grab says net revenue rose by 39% in Q1 2021

Southeast Asian super app Grab, which is en route to an initial public offering of over US$4 billion, reported a 39% year-on-year growth in adjusted net sales to an all-time high of US$507 million in the first quarter of 2021 because of a boom in its deliveries business. The company said that its adjusted net revenue figure had been renamed adjusted net sales.

The Singapore-headquartered firm’s quarterly revenue as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) also hit a record US$216 million.

Photo credit: Grab

While the quarterly gross merchandise value of Grab’s deliveries business demonstrated strong year-on-year growth of 49%, the company’s overall GMV grew only 5% to US$3.6 billion as the company continues to grapple with the impact of Covid-19 and resulting lockdowns on its mobility segment. Mobility GMV during the quarter came in at about 64% of Q1 2020 levels, the company said in a statement.

Overall, Grab turned positive on a segmented adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) basis. This figure excludes regional costs that the company incurred. It swung to a total segment adjusted EBITDA profit of US$35 million in Q1 2021 from a segment adjusted EBITDA loss of US$196 million in the same quarter last year.

The company continues to be segment adjusted EBIDTA positive in all of its core markets, Grab said in a statement.

On an adjusted EBITDA basis, the firm was still in the red. However, it narrowed its net loss by 68% during the quarter to US$111 million.

Grab’s adjusted EBITDA for its mobility business rose 42% to US$115 million in the first quarter from a year earlier. It anticipates that demand for mobility services will continue to experience  volatility as resurgence in Covid-19 cases have impacted its markets, leading to  renewed restrictions. 

Adjusted EBITDA also improved by US$39 million on a year-on-year basis to a loss of US$78 million for its financial services vertical.

See also: The leading Asian tech players eyeing an IPO in 2021

Grab continues to be well-positioned to capture a large share of the total addressable market, which is estimated to grow from approximately US$52 billion today to more than US$130 billion by 2025 across online food delivery, ride-hailing, and e-wallet services, according to Euromonitor.

Correction (August 2, 2021 23:45 pm SGT): The article earlier incorrectly mentioned that adjusted EBITDA for financial services vertical of Grab improved by US$39 million year-on-year to US$78 million.
Correction (August 3, 2021 13:30 am SGT): The article earlier incorrectly mentioned that Grab is eyeing a $2-billion IPO.