Just Eat Takeaway orders drop as customers cut back on deliveries

Food delivery companies experienced a boom during the pandemic as customers were locked down at home. They have since been struggling to reinvigorate order growth and improve profitability. Photograph: Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie

Just Eat Takeaway’s orders slipped in the first quarter amid continued weak consumer demand for food deliveries.

Total orders fell 6% to €214m in the period, the Amsterdam-headquartered company said in a statement on Wednesday. That compared to an average estimate of €217.8m according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Food delivery companies experienced a boom during the pandemic as customers were locked down at home. They have since been struggling to reinvigorate order growth and improve profitability.

Just Eat has been expanding its delivery offerings through partnerships with brands such as Lush Cosmetics and grocery chains such as J Sainsbury and Asda.

The firm on Wednesday said it is still exploring the partial or full sale of its US unit Grubhub, which it acquired for $7.3bn in 2021.

Chief executive Jitse Groen had previously attributed delays in the divestment process to meal delivery companies’ market capitalisation being under pressure.

A cap instituted by New York City on how much food-delivery companies can charge restaurants remains an impediment in the sale and the unit’s profitability.

The company kept its outlook for the full-year unchanged. The total value of orders placed on Just Eat’s platform in the first quarter fell to €6.5bn from almost €6.7bn a year ago, it said in the statement.

The Northern Europe and UK and Ireland sectors posted 5% and 11% growth in gross transaction value during the period, respectively.

- Bloomberg