Grab Holdings Ltd, Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing and food delivery company, anticipated a rebound in its rideshare and food delivery businesses as economies recover from a pandemic-related dip on Thursday, sending its U.S.-listed shares up 32%.
The company’s rideshare business, which was hampered by pandemic-related limitations in some locations, is reviving as offices reopen.
“Our business will continue to strengthen as more countries shift to living with Covid-19,” said CEO Anthony Tan, who added that the first-quarter results demonstrated the “resilience of Southeast Asia’s economy as we get through the worst of the pandemic limitations.”
As consumers continue to shop online, Singapore-based Grab, which operates in eight Southeast Asian countries, has stated that it wishes to expand into new markets in underdeveloped cities and towns.
The mobility industry is making a strong comeback. It was one of the bright spots in the first quarter,” said Chief Financial Officer Peter Oey in an interview with Reuters.
According to Angus Mackintosh, an analyst at CrossASEAN Research, the rebound was “promising,” and Grab’s decision to lower incentive spending worked effectively to improve unit economics.
Grab forecasts the delivery segment’s second-quarter gross merchandise value (GMV), a measure of transaction volume, to be between $2.55 billion and $2.65 billion, and the mobility unit to be between $950 million and $1 billion.
In the first quarter, GMV for the two units was $2.56 billion and $834 million, respectively.
Grab anticipates GMV to increase by 30 to 35 percent this year.
