Ride-hailing and delivery group Uber has posted a $5.9 billion (£4.7 billion) loss, mostly on its stakes in other companies.
The company said almost all of the loss was due to the depreciation of investments in companies, including two Asian ride-sharing giants — China’s Didi and Southeast Asia’s Grab.
Didi and Grab’s shares have plummeted since going public in New York last year.
Despite the loss, Uber’s boss highlighted his progress in recovering from the impact of the pandemic.
“Our results show how much progress we’ve made in managing the pandemic and how the power of our platform is driving our business performance,” said Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi.
This comes as the company said the number of trips taken had increased by 18% in the three months to the end of March compared to the same period last year. This increased revenue by 136%.
On a net basis, Uber’s first-quarter loss rose to $5.9 billion from $108 million a year earlier, reflecting a $5.6 billion depreciation of holdings in other companies, primarily the Chinese car service company Didi.
Uber had enough cash to hold those loss-making shares and wait for a better time to sell them, Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai said.
Its shares ended Wednesday’s trading session in New York down 4.65%.
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In 2016, faced with stiff competition in China, Uber sold its business in the world’s second largest economy to Didi in exchange for an 18 percent stake in the Beijing-headquartered company.
Didi’s U.S. market valuation has fallen more than 80% since its debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) last summer.
Within days of the listing, China’s internet regulator ordered online stores not to offer Didi’s app, claiming that it illegally collected users’ personal information.
In December, the company announced plans to delist its shares from the NYSE and move its listing to Hong Kong.
This week, Didi announced that it faces an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over its IPO.
In 2018, when both companies were still privately held, Uber sold its Southeast Asia operations to Grab for a 27.5 percent stake in the Singapore-based company.
Shares of Grab fell sharply on its debut on New York’s Nasdaq trading platform in December last year.
Its stock market valuation has fallen nearly 75% since its IPO, the largest ever U.S. listing by a Southeast Asian company.
Uber also owns a stake in Indian grocer Zomato, which it acquired in 2020 in exchange for its Uber Eats operations in India.
Zomato’s stock has nearly halved since its stellar IPO debut in July.
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