Grab boosts sales, earnings forecasts on rising ride demand

Grab Holdings raised its full-year revenue and profit forecasts after quarterly earnings beat estimates, signalling confidence that rising ride-hailing and food-delivery demand across Southeast Asia will offset regulatory hurdles.

Sales will rise to US$4.15 billion to US$4.2 billion this year, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation will be as much as US$800 million, the company said Tuesday. In August, it had forecast sales of as much as US$4.15 billion and earnings on that basis of up to US$740 million.

The stock rose about 2% in after-hours trading.

Grab added about 3 million monthly users in the quarter through September for a total of 57 million, suggesting it’s succeeding in fending off intense competition from the likes of Indonesia’s GoTo Group. Demand for ride hailing and food delivery is rising in Southeast Asia as more people go online.

Meanwhile, higher fuel prices are raising ride and delivery costs across the region of about 700 million people. Platform companies are offering incentives to drivers and customers to soften the blow, but that risks squeezing already thin margins.

Regulators are also piling on pressure. Indonesia, one of Grab’s biggest markets, has already cut the maximum commission companies can charge on scooter rides, and is considering further rules in areas like food delivery by the end of the year.

Competition remains intense, with rivals such as GoTo and new entrants like Green & Smart Mobility JSC vying against Grab in populous markets like Indonesia and Vietnam.

Uber Technologies, one of Grab’s backers, could also be a looming threat – its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE opens up a path for Uber Eats to re-enter Southeast Asia. Alphabet’s Waymo also plans to launch robotaxis in Singapore in 2028.

Shares of Grab have dropped more than 40% since the start of the year, cutting its market value to about US$11 billion.

The company, meanwhile, is striking deals to spur growth beyond its core business. In September, it agreed to acquire a majority stake in buy-now-pay-later platform Atome Financial for US$1.49 billion, after buying US-based Stash Financial for an enterprise value of US$425 million.

But not every deal has gone to plan. Last month, Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission blocked Grab’s roughly US$600 million purchase of Foodpanda’s local delivery operations on antitrust concerns.

In the latest quarter, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 74% to US$237 million, the Singapore-based company said. Analysts projected US$194.2 million on average, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. Revenue grew 27% to US$1.1 billion, roughly in line with estimates.

To add users, Grab has expanded its product offering to include more affordable and premium options. It’s also expanding into games and microdramas, partnering with other platforms to keep users on its app for longer.

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.