London (awp/afp) – The British food delivery platform Deliveroo widened its losses in the first half of the year due to soaring costs, despite an increase in its turnover, and is considering its departure from the Netherlands. Down.
The net loss group share increased by 41% to 153.8 million pounds despite a turnover up 12% in the first six months of the year, a rate of growth which however slowed in the second quarter compared to the first.
The company has also “started consultations on a proposal to end its operations in the Netherlands, reflecting the disciplined approach of the company in terms of capital”, since the European country represents only around 1% of its turnover.
Deliveroo maintains its forecasts with in particular an expected gross value of transactions up 4 to 12% over the year, according to a press release on Wednesday.
While Deliveroo had largely benefited from the pandemic and periods of confinement, founder and chief executive Will Shu now observes that consumers are facing “drags” in their spending with inflation soaring in many European countries .
“We remain confident in our ability to adapt financially to any changes in the macroeconomic environment,” adds Shu.
The company, one of the most emblematic of the “gig economy” and the target of numerous lawsuits over the status of its delivery workers and their working conditions, notes that the “voluntary partnership agreement with the GMB union in the United Kingdom has gave rise to the recognition of the status of self-employed” of its couriers.
In France, the platform was condemned for the first time last month for “concealed work” by the Paris Court of Appeal, which confirmed the requalification of the service contract of a courier into an employment contract.
The Paris court had also imposed a fine of 375,000 euros on Deliveroo France in April for “hidden work”, during a first criminal trial in France of “uberization”, that is to say a precariousness work.
The group adds that its grocery delivery offer has been strengthened with new partnerships with supermarket chains Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, ASDA and Spar in the UK, Auchan in France, Esselunga in Italy and ParknShop in Hong Kong. -Kong.
The American fast-food giant McDonald’s is also now present on the platform in the United Kingdom.
The action took 0.83% to 92.00 pence on the London Stock Exchange in a balanced market at the start of the session, still well below its IPO price in April 2021, at 390 pence.
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