Grab's Losses Drop 65%, Delivery Service Nears Profitability

Grab Holdings Inc. reported a 65% year-on-year (YoY) decrease in losses, from US$988 million in Q3 2021 to US$342 million (Rp 5.3 trillion) in the same period this year. The Singapore-based super app achieved break-even for its delivery services, GrabExpress and GrabFood. Break-even means no loss, but also no profit.

“The Q3 results demonstrate our ability to drive growth and profitability simultaneously,” said Grab Group Co-founder and CEO Anthony Tan in a press release on Thursday, November 16th, as reported by Katadata.co.id.

The decrease in losses is mainly due to the elimination of non-cash interest expense from Grab's convertible preferred shares, which were converted into common stock in December 2021. He stated that Grab is focusing on cost structure and incentives to achieve break-even. However, the company also continues to innovate to drive transaction frequency, user retention, and engagement.

Meanwhile, Grab's revenue increased by 143% YoY and 19% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to US$382 million. This revenue comprises ride-hailing revenue (taxis and online motorcycle taxis), which increased by 101% YoY, and GrabFood's food delivery revenue, which increased by 250% YoY.

Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) increased by 26% YoY to US$5.1 billion. Incentives for consumers, driver-partners, and merchants decreased by 11.4% from Q3 2021 and 10.4% from Q2 2022, reaching 9.4% of GMV in Q3 2022.

Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) increased by 24% YoY to negative US$161 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 209 basis points (bps) YoY to minus 3.2%.