Deliveroo sales jump despite restaurants reopening

Deliveroo, the takeaway food delivery app, posted rising sales Wednesday, extending its strong pandemic performance despite the reopening of restaurants and the end of Covid curbs.

Sales jumped almost 60 percent to nearly £1.6 billion ($2.2 billion, 1.9 billion euros) in the three months to late September from a year earlier, the British group said in a statement.

Total orders leapt 64 percent to 74.6 million in the third quarter, but there was a “modest decline” in average order value.

Founder and chief executive Will Shu praised the “strong” performance, which also came after Deliveroo launched a partnership with US online giant Amazon.

And the London-listed company also upgraded its annual outlook.

“While we are mindful of current and potential macroeconomic disruptions and uncertainties, we expect further strong performance in the remainder of the year and we are increasing our full year (sales) growth guidance,” added Shu.

The group forecast annual sales, or gross transaction value, to grow by 60-70 percent.

That was up from previous guidance of 50-60 percent.

Deliveroo, which suffered a poor stock market launch in March, enjoyed soaring sales during the deadly pandemic as stuck-at-home consumers opted for home deliveries.

The group derives about half of its sales from the UK and Ireland, and half from its international division.