Hungry for more: Just Eat boosts orders by 33 per cent as it targets route to profitability
Just Eat Takeaway.com (Just Eat) reported 1.1 billion orders in 2021, a 33 per cent jump on the previous year with the pandemic boosting sales across online food delivery marketplaces.
In its fourth quarter trading update, Just Eat revealed its gross transaction value (GTV) was €28.2bn for the full year of 2021, representing an increase of 31 per cent compared with 2020.
The UK and Ireland was Just Eat’s fastest growing segment for both the quarter and the year.
The delivery giant will continue to invest heavily in its London network, with the company wading into the on-demand grocery market this year through agreements with both Asda and One Stop.
It also remains in discussion with several potential strategic partners to strengthen its US position.
Its North American platform Grubhub recently entered into a partnership between Instacart and its own branded convenience pilot – Grubhub Goods – which can operate in 7-Eleven convenience stores.
Just Eat merged with Takeaway.com nearly two years ago, with the Amsterdam company boosting its orders six-fold in a market characterised by pandemic conditions with people staying at home across developed economies.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown argued the uptake in orders was “no mean feat”.
She believed the latest results suggest Just Eat is gaining ground on its rivals such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo.
She said: “The investment following the merger of Just Eat and Takeaway.com and the acquisition of Grubhub is now paying off and there should be the prospect of continued growth ahead with more restaurants being signed up offering more choice, particularly in the lucrative New York market.”
Just Eat left the FTSE 100 last September, scrapping its dual listing in London and Amsterdam.
Jitse Groen, chief executive of Just Eat said: “Following the merger of Just Eat and Takeaway.com nearly two years ago, we made significant investments to grow our leadership positions and the company is now six times bigger in terms of orders. On the back of this success, we have markedly improved our adjusted EBITDA throughout the second half of 2021, and we will make further improvements this year. Meanwhile, we expect our market positions to strengthen further, driven by our superior network effects.”