Laying out Grab’s financial health

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Hello readers,

When I was a broke university student, Grab’s services were basically luxuries to me. At the time, I avoided paying even S$12 for a ride or else I wouldn’t be able to buy food the next day. Things are different now, though, and I’ve found myself using services like GrabFood more often as I get lazier and lazier (sitting at home can be too comfortable at times).

But while I slip into this state of lethargy, Grab will soon have even more work cut out for it. With its move into the public sphere, the Southeast Asian tech giant will have to keep up a strong performance to take its success to the next level. Whether its track record is indicative of how it’ll achieve this, today’s story will let you be the judge of that.

Today we look at,

• Grab’s financial journey since Q2 of last year.
• Edtech platform Tigerhall continues its hot streak of fundraising
• Other newsy highlights such as the new Play Future Fund for blockchain gaming and Zepeto’s US$150 million addition to its fundraising wardrobe.

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Down memory lane

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Grab’s IPO has been years in the making. We decided to take a look at what it took for the super app to get to this point. It hasn’t been easy having to deal with net losses quarter after quarter, so could going public finally give Grab what it needs to get out of the red?

• Silver linings: Grab might have recently posted its largest quarterly net loss so far since Q2 2020 at a loss of US$988 million, but its engagement numbers do offer some solace. The company has seen strong growth in this area, with gross merchandise value (GMV) growing from US$2.4 billion in Q2 2020 to US$4 billion in Q3 2021.

• More spending per user: Despite having a greater GMV, it’s interesting to note that this wasn’t due to an increase in the number of users on the platform but rather that each user was spending more. In fact, the total number of monthly transacting users remained roughly around 24 million from Q2 2020 to Q3 2021, with the company even seeing a dip from 24.7 million in Q2 2021 to 22.1 million in Q3 of the same year.

• Yesterday, all its troubles seemed so far away: 2020 saw Grab off to an explosive start, but that has somewhat fizzled out this year. Although the firm saw strong growth in revenue for deliveries and mobility last year, these two segments have seen weaker performances and falling revenue for 2021.

Read more: Grab’s financial health in 8 charts

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