NASDAQ-LISTED Grab on Thursday (Feb 20) posted a net profit of US$27 million for the fourth quarter ended December, down from US$35 million in the previous corresponding period.
The earnings beat estimates of a US$10.3 million profit in a poll of eight analysts by Bloomberg.
Revenue for the three months was US$764 million, up 17 per cent on the year from US$653 million, driven by growth across all segments, said Grab. It met an estimate of US$757.8 million in a 17-analyst Bloomberg poll.
Earnings per share was US$0.01, unchanged from the previous corresponding period.
The group’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) was US$97 million for the quarter, up from US$35 million in the year-ago period.
The improvement in adjusted Ebitda was driven by Grab’s on-demand gross merchandise value (GMV) and group revenue growth, as well as “improving profitability on a segment adjusted Ebitda basis and lower regional corporate costs”, said the ride-hailing company.
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Regional corporate costs are costs that are not attributed to any of the business segments, including certain cost of revenue, research and development expenses, general and administrative expenses and marketing expenses. They include cloud computing costs.
Regional corporate costs for the quarter was US$87 million, compared with US$100 million in the same period a year earlier.
On-demand GMV, which includes mobility and deliveries, for the quarter grew 20 per cent on the year to US$5 billion, from US$4.2 billion previously, underpinned by growth in on-demand monthly transacting users and transactions.
Adjusted free cash flow for the three months was US$61 million, up from US$1 million in the previous corresponding period.
For the full year, the company’s loss for the period narrowed to US$105 million from US$434 million the year before. Revenue gained 18.6 per cent to US$2.8 billion from US$2.4 billion.
Anthony Tan, Grab’s group chief executive and co-founder, said: “Fourth quarter was our strongest quarter ever. We finished 2024 with on-demand GMV growth accelerating to 20 per cent year on year, and as we continue to generate profitability at scale.”
He added: “We have more users on our platform than ever, and our unique platform advantages place us in a strong position to continue this growth momentum into 2025, and to deepen user engagement across our ecosystem.”
Peter Oey, chief financial officer of Grab, said the group “looks to maintain our growth momentum and cash generation capabilities, while remaining disciplined in making strategic investments”.
Shares of Grab ended 0.8 per cent or US$0.04 higher at S$5.34 on Wednesday on Nasdaq.
