Just Eat orders one million behind forecasts

In the UK and Ireland, orders were one million behind the forecast.

Just Eat Takeaway missed expectations for third-quarter gross transaction value (GTV) on Wednesday, as a bigger than expected decline in North America offset growth in its key Northern European, UK and Irish markets.

Europe's biggest food delivery company by revenue said its GTV, which measures the total value of all goods sold, fell 3% to €6.34bn in the July-September period, below analysts' consensus of €6.5bn cited by ING in a preview note.

In North America, where Just Eat is still exploring ways to sell its US unit Grubhub, GTV dropped by 11% to €2.18bn, missing the consensus of €2.3bn. Meanwhile, its key markets reported slightly lighter than expected growth of 3-4%.

Just Eat also handled fewer than expected orders through its platforms in the third quarter at 211.1 million, versus 214 million expected by analysts on average.

In Northern Europe, it recorded two million orders fewer than analysts had expected. In the UK and Ireland, orders were one million behind the forecast.

Just Eat, like other meal delivery firms, has been seeking ways to boost revenue streams after the pandemic-driven boom waned, including broadening its offering to retail stores and introducing more advertising.

It has also cut costs through measures such as layoffs, exiting less profitable markets and using AI to reduce the workload at its call centres.

"Cost and operational efficiencies have allowed us to increase investments while maintaining our outlook," chief executive Jitse Groen said in a statement.

The company reaffirmed the 2024 outlook announced in late February, including 2%-6% GTV growth when excluding North America and core earnings of about €450m.

Reuters