Just Eat: Takeaway giant embarks on £132m share buyback scheme after 14 per cent dip in orders
Just Eat will undergo a €150 million (£132m) share buyback scheme after the takeaway giant posted a 14 per cent loss in orders in the first leg of the year.
The Danish company said that it was impacted by a “difficult pandemic comparison” as an end to lockdowns and a tightening on consumer spending pushed Gross Transaction Value (GTV) down 8 per cent to €6,665m (£5,878m).
Just Eat, which is known for its celebrity endorsements from the likes of pop star Katy Perry and rapper Snoopdog, also said that total sales in its UK and Ireland offering were down to €1.5bn (£1.3bn) compared to €1.6bn (£1.4bn) in the same period last year.
The group also said it was continuing to explore the sale of online food ordering company Grubhub which it acquired in 2021, however noted that there can be “no certainty” that any such strategic actions will be agreed or “what the timing of such agreements will be”.
“Q1 2023 continued to be affected by a difficult pandemic comparison. The Company continues to make good progress on delivery-led operational improvements and is now ahead of plan,” Jitse Groen, chief of Just Eat Takeaway.com, said.
It comes as last month Just Eat announced that it would cut 1,700 job roles across its workforce due to a slowdown in takeaway sales.
Neil Shah, director of content and strategy at Edison Group, said: “Predictably, this latest trading statement reflects the pressures Just Eat has faced over the past twelve months. With delivery services no longer running on the fuel of lockdowns, Just Eat saw a 14 per cent decrease in total on-year orders for Q1.
“Moreover, consumer habits over the past year were impacted by more than just the end of the pandemic. Demand for fast food has swiftly transitioned into demand for cheap food – the cost-of-living crisis deterring consumers from splashing out on deliveries – and the downturn in Just Eat’s GTV certainly reflects this trend.”