Grab gives SG and SGX the finger

[LITTLEREDDOT]

PropertyGuru also gave SGX the finger, chose to list on NASDAQ instead.

PropertyGuru to begin trading on Nasdaq on Mar 18 after Spac merger​

Singapore-based property-listings platform PropertyGuru is set to list on Nasdaq in the middle of this month after a business combination with Bridgetown 2 Holdings. PHOTO: REUTERS

Mar 11, 2022

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Singapore-based property-listings platform PropertyGuru is set to list on Nasdaq in the middle of this month after a business combination with Bridgetown 2 Holdings, a special-purpose acquisition company (Spac).
This would happen after - it is assumed - shareholders vote in favour of the business combination in an extraordinary general meeting on Mar 15. Bridgetown 2 is a SPAC backed by billionaires Peter Thiel and Li Ka Shing.
The Spac merger values PropertyGuru at about US$1.78 billion.
Spacs are shell firms that raise money from institutional and retail investors via market listings, and put it in a trust for the purpose of merging with a private company and taking it public.
While the US has been a go-to market for Spacs, bourses in Asia such as Singapore and Hong Kong have recently also introduced frameworks for such listings. Since SGX introduced its Spac framework last September, three Spacs have gone public.
Spacs are increasingly falling out of favour with investors after an initial boom, following regulatory clampdowns, an oversupply of Spacs and concerns over rising interest rates.
Shares of Bridgetown 2 Holdings, for instance, are down more than 20 per cent since its market debut in January 2021.

PropertyGuru, which provides real estate services to countries in South-east Asia, saw growth in Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia over FY2021 .
PropertyGuru posted a revenue of $100.7 million, an increase of 22.7 per cent from $82.1 million a year prior. This was also above the projected FY2021 revenue of S$97.5 million.
In Singapore, PropertyGuru increased agent subscription prices on average by 15 per cent in November 2021, which its chief executive officer Hari Krishnan last month attributed to "by rising property prices, solid agent and consumer confidence and PropertyGuru's strong market position".
The company is forecasting FY2022 revenue to grow 44 per cent year on year to $145.1 million, and is expected to be adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) positive.
Meanwhile, local online classifieds platforms Carousell is also seeking s Spac deal in the US via a merger with blank-cheque company L Catterton Asia Acquisition.

 

[covertbriar]

Grab could face class action suits in US following recent share price dive

Nasdaq-listed super-app Grab could face class action lawsuits, with several United States law firms calling for shareholders to contact them to investigate claims on their behalf.


The mounting of such investigations, which is fairly commonplace for listed firms in the US, comes after Grab's shares crashed last week, falling about 37 per cent on March 3 after it announced a fourth-quarter net loss of US$1.1 billion (S$1.5 billion).


Its results came amid a worse-than-expected drop in revenue, due to higher incentives being paid out to attract drivers and consumers.


Singapore-headquartered Grab's shares last closed at US$3.36 on Monday (March 7), a far cry from the US$13.06 it reached on the day of its listing last December.


At least eight law firms have announced their intention to investigate Grab for matters such as false and misleading statements, possible fraud and other violations of US federal securities laws.

More at https://shrtcô.de/4rWg3p

 

[Leckmichamarsch]

I heard even uber continues to bleed. And now airasia wants to do this budsiessgrab revenue only about usd2 bil. But that includes good purchases. You exclude the food items, it's probably half that.
Grab revenue should only be their commission only after deducting food and paying their deliver9os and grab drivers.
This sounds like Enron which included its entire commodity trading as revenue when it actually earns only a small commission from trading it.

as usual dun ever trust mudslume

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Real estate firm PropertyGuru starts trading on New York Stock Exchange​

The official bell-ringing ceremony in New York was live-streamed in Singapore, on March 18, 2022. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Choo Yun Ting
Business Correspondent


MAR 18, 2022

SINGAPORE - Singapore-based online firm PropertyGuru started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday (March 18) after its merger with blank-cheque company Bridgetown 2 Holdings.
The combined entity, which is trading under the ticker PGRU, opened at US$8.61.
Bridgetown 2 Holdings stock had closed at US$8.33 on Thursday. Bridgetown 2, like other Spacs or special purpose acquisition companies, started trading at US$10 when it went public.
PropertyGuru's listing was celebrated by around 150 employees, partners, investors and other guests at an event held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The official bell-ringing ceremony in New York was live-streamed at the event in Singapore.
PropertyGuru chief executive and managing director Hari Krishnan, other executives and the company's founders were in New York for the market debut.
Mr Krishnan told employees and other guests on Friday that the listing creates new opportunities and avenues to "exploit the future for the group".

"It's taken us 15 years to get here. We still have a lot of work ahead of us," he said.
"We're very, very proud to wave the flag of South-east Asian tech and to bring it to the New York Stock Exchange and share that story in the years to come," he added, paying tribute to the efforts of the company's employees over PropertyGuru's 15-year history.
The merger of PropertyGuru and Bridgetown 2 Holdings, which is backed by billionaires Richard Li and Peter Thiel, was approved earlier this week at a special shareholder meeting.


The deal gave PropertyGuru an equity value of about US$1.61 billion (S$2.18 billion).
The firm - launched in 2007 by founders Jani Rautiainen and Steve Melhuish - has operations across several South-east Asian markets, including Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
Aside from its property search and digital marketing services, it has also expanded into other related offerings including a mortgage marketplace and now employs around 1,400 people.
In 2019, PropertyGuru scrapped plans to list in Australia due to uncertain market conditions.
Last month, it announced a 22.7 per cent increase in revenue to $100.7 million for the 2021 financial year, exceeding its projected turnover of $97.5 million.

It said it expects revenue in this financial year to grow 44 per cent year on year, in part due to the firm's strong business momentum and the projected expansion of South-east Asian markets as they emerge from the impact of Covid-19.
Friday's listing comes at a difficult time as investor interest towards Spacs wane, partly down to heightened scrutiny by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and falling stock prices of firms that listed through Spac mergers.
Spacs raise capital from public markets and use that cash to merge with a private company, typically with the goal of taking the target firm public within two years.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Quote: "Still, analysts have been slow to cut target prices given the two companies’ status as market leaders in Southeast Asia. They expect a return of at least 68% on both stocks over the next 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg."

What are the analysts smoking!!??

A $96.3 bil plunge in the share prices of Grab and Sea Limited casts doubt on Singapore's new economy aura​

Bloomberg
Mon, Apr 04, 2022

Photo: Bloomberg

Singapore’s two largest new-economy firms have been touted as the next big thing for years. A US$71 billion ($96.3 billion) rout in their share prices in 2022 seems to show investors aren’t buying the story.
Shares of ride-hailing company Grab Holdings Ltd. have more than halved since the start of the year while gaming and e-commerce giant Sea Ltd.’s stock price has tumbled by 46%. The two US-listed firms are languishing at the bottom of the MSCI Asean Index, with Grab among the biggest losers on the Asia Pacific stock benchmark as well.
The slump comes months after MSCI Inc. added the shares to its indexes amid much fanfare as it sought to give its regional gauges more exposure to new economy stocks. The tech selloff and waning global interest in special purpose acquisition companies have taken a toll on the firms.

“Passive investors would have lost a fair bit of money on these stocks,” said Brian Freitas, an analyst who publishes research on independent research website Smartkarma. Future price action “depends on how the companies perform and the global macro environment -- neither of which look terribly encouraging at the moment.”

Grab was added to the MSCI Asean Index in February, hot on the heels of its merger with blank-check company Altimeter Growth Corp. Sea’s inclusion in the gauge began in May last year.
Freitas estimates that passive holdings of Sea and Grab are close to US$2.8 billion and US$280 million, respectively. The stocks have lost a combined US$71 billion in market value this year.
Judging by the earnings outlook, there may be little respite in store. Sea, which counts Chinese social media leader Tencent Holdings Ltd. as its biggest shareholder, is betting on growth at its online retail unit Shopee as its gaming arm faces slower bookings. But, Sea shut its main e-commerce operation in India on March 29, soon after the country banned its marquee flagship game Free Fire along with dozens of apps it says are of Chinese origin, citing security concerns.

“Shopee’s growth trajectory is flattening rapidly alongside India and France exits,” said Oshadhi Kumarasiri, an equity analyst with LightStream Research. “For a company priced expensively based on its future growth, it’s difficult to brush off the impact of an exit from a huge market like India. The growth story of Sea is falling apart.”

Meanwhile, Grab’s losses are mounting and the firm continues to splurge on subsidies.

Still, analysts have been slow to cut target prices given the two companies’ status as market leaders in Southeast Asia. They expect a return of at least 68% on both stocks over the next 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

 

[syed putra]

Grab does not use their own cars or motorcycles but still valued at billions. Its the software alone.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Grab revenue rises, loss narrows on delivery, ride demand​

Grab managed to grow paying users 10 per cent after South-east Asian countries removed pandemic-era restrictions. PHOTO: ST FILE

May 19, 2022

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Grab Holdings said revenue rose 6 per cent in the first quarter after the ride-hailing and delivery company won back consumers as the pandemic receded in South-east Asia.
Revenue increased to US$228 million (S$316 million) after the Singapore-based company added sales from Jaya Grocer, a platform it acquired in January.
That was more than the US$139.2 million analysts were expecting, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Grab's net loss narrowed to US$435 million, as the company fights to gain profitability following years of heavy spending in pursuit of market share.
The company managed to grow paying users 10 per cent to 30.9 million after South-east Asian countries removed pandemic-era restrictions. Per-user spending climbed 19 per cent, it said.
Unlike other Internet companies that are grappling with cooling post-Covid-19 online activity, Grab's car-hailing and delivery businesses benefit as life returned to normal.
The company had struggled since becoming a publicly listed company in the United States through a merger with a blank-check company in December.

Mounting losses, coupled with a broad tech sell-off, have weighed on its shares, which have lost more than 70 per cent since the start-up went public.
Revenue from the delivery business jumped 70 per cent to US$91 million, while revenue from the mobility business declined 22 per cent to US$112 million.
Revenue from financial services rose to US$11 million.
Deliveries gross merchandise value (GMV) was US$2.56 billion versus its forecast of US$2.4 billion to US$2.5 billion.
Mobility GMV was US$834 million versus its forecast of US$750 million to US$800 million.
The company said it expects full-year revenue to increase to US$1.2 billion to US$1.3 billion.
Grab's cash and cash equivalents fell to US$3.4 billion at the end of March from about US$5 billion at the end of 2021, partly because of cash outflow from operating activities and the acquisition of Jaya Grocer.

Partner incentives climbed 55 per cent to US$216 million, while consumer incentives rose 85 per cent to US$344 million.
The company sees GMV growing 30 per cent to 35 per cent in 2022.
Grab shares rose more than 3.5 per cent in pre-market trading in New York.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Brokers’ take: Maybank downgrades Grab to ‘sell’ on mounting recession risks​

FRI, JUL 08, 2022
YONG HUI TING[email protected]@yhuitingBT

Maybank Research on Friday (Jul 8) slashed the target price for Grab by almost half, from US$4.25 to US$2.29 and downgraded the counter from “buy” to “sell” to factor in the new risks from a potential recession.
BT PHOTO: YONG HUI TING
RECESSION risks are mounting for South-east Asian superapp Grab, as capital market expectations appear to have changed on investor projections of further rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.
Maybank Research on Friday (Jul 8) slashed the target price for Grab by almost half, from US$4.25 to US$2.29 and downgraded the counter from “buy” to “sell” to factor in the new risks from a potential recession.
The brokerage was unimpressed by Grab’s recent pivot to software as a service (Saas) via GrabMaps, calling it a “desperate wringing for cash flows where it can”, and likened the move similar to an act of “pawning the family jewels”.

Analyst Samuel Tan was also sceptical of the ride-hailing giant’s target of 10 per cent of the US$1 billion mapping market by 2025 as he foresees a “more challenging capital expenditure situation” amongst other technology platforms, which are a key customer segment for GrabMaps.
“Exposing its APIs could make Grab vulnerable to IP risks, such as scraping and copying by other technology rivals, eroding its edge over time,” said Tan.
Saas is a software distribution model in which a cloud provider hosts applications and makes them available to end users over the Internet. Through this model, an independent software vendor may contract a third-party cloud provider to host the application.

The analyst further believes there is greater investor favour over more mature SaaS and superapp names, such as Salesforce and Tencent, noting that these companies have not experienced as great a fall in share price as Grab. From the start of Q3 2021, Grab’s counter has fallen about 78 per cent, whereas Salesforce and Tencent were down 28 per cent over the same period.
“We see Grab as still being in a transitionary phase, having neither a mini-apps ecosystem nor a meaningful recurring SaaS revenue stream, and therefore, increasingly disfavoured by investors,” Tan said.
The research house however, capped its price floor expectations of US$1.35 to Grab’s share price after taking into account the firm’s PIPE (private investment in public equity) cash injection of US$4.3 billion in Q4 2021, which Tan believes was “well-timed” in shoring up Grab’s finances.
Additionally, the tech company can also benefit from improvements in the mobility segment as the region adapts to living with Covid-19, such as the resumption of GrabShare, further digital bank ventures in Philippines and Thailand and more mini-apps features in the style of other superapps.
Other upside factors include an improvement in competitive position from coalescing of the Grab-Singtel-Emtek-Bukalapak alliance into a multi-prong strategy in Indonesia against GoTo, and the easing of monetary policy by the US Fed.

 

[syed putra]

property guru will not end up like grab because of this ceo

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Once South-east Asia's most valuable start-up, Grab falls $18 billion behind GoTo​

Grab still counts Singapore as its largest market even as it tries to expand in countries including Indonesia, South-east Asia's largest economy. PHOTO: ST FILE

Aug 25, 2022

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Singapore's Grab Holdings, once South-east Asia's most valuable start-up, is faltering behind GoTo Group in the stock markets as it fights to gain ground on its Indonesian ride-hailing rival's home turf.
The unprofitable companies are both struggling to convince investors of their moneymaking potential after staging their stock market debuts in recent months. Yet GoTo has fallen less than its competitor and its market value of about US$26 billion (S$36 billion) is now twice that of its Singaporean peer. The companies are each set to report quarterly earnings.
Grab and GoTo have been locked in an expensive battle for dominance over the past several years. Grab still counts Singapore as its largest market even as it tries to expand in countries including Indonesia, South-east Asia's largest economy. GoTo is enjoying a leadership position in its home nation of more than 270 million people whose mobile-savvy consumers are shopping on its online-retail platform Tokopedia and ordering rides and food via its Gojek's app.
The growth potential of Indonesia has helped GoTo outperform Grab, which became a publicly traded company through a merger with Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Growth Corp in December. GoTo has lost about 3 per cent since its initial public offering in Jakarta in April, while Grab is down more than 60 per cent since combining with the US blank-cheque company.
"GoTo's advantage as a homegrown Indonesian brand and its synergy with Tokopedia may let the country's biggest tech firm defend food-delivery market share from Grab, the category's leader in South-east Asia, and improve profitability," Mr Nathan Naidu, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said in a July 20 report.
While Gojek has a strong grasp of the crucial Indonesia market, Grab has made inroads in food delivery. Grab had 49 per cent of the Indonesian food delivery market last year, compared with GoTo’s 43 per cent, according to Momentum Works.
Grab is scheduled to report second-quarter results before US markets open on Thursday, while GoTo is set to release results on Aug 30.

 

[blackmondy]

Sinkapore share market no different from commie tiong-cock share market. Only people belonging to a certain class will make the big bucks. The rest of the mere-mortals will have to fight among themselves over the remaining crumbs.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Grab’s sales beat estimates, but falls behind GoTo in market value​

Grab still counts Singapore as its largest market even as it tries to expand in countries including Indonesia, South-east Asia's largest economy. PHOTO: ST FILE
UPDATED

Aug 26, 2022

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Grab Holdings reported a better-than-expected 79 per cent revenue increase, buoyed by resilient demand from consumers who continued to hail rides and order food despite rising inflation.
Revenue climbed to US$321 million in the second quarter, the Singapore-based company said in a statement Thursday. That beat the US$273.1 million average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Grab’s net loss narrowed to about US$547 million as it fights to reduce cash burn after spending several years locked in an expensive battle for dominance in the region.
Grab, led by Anthony Tan, has struggled since it went public via a merger with a US blank-check company last year.
Its shares have lost more than 60 per cent of their value since then as losses piled up during pandemic-era lockdowns and money-losing companies have fallen out of favor with investors.
Now Mr Tan must navigate through an era of rising inflation that could dampen demand just as Grab is trying to emerge from the Covid challenges.
Grab said revenue this year is expected to be US$1.25 billion to US$1.3 billion, compared with its previous forecast of US$1.2 billion to US$1.3 billion.


The company said its gross merchandise value will expand 21 per cent to 25 per cent this year, compared with 30 per cent to 35 per cent it had projected previously.
Once South-east Asia’s most valuable start-up, Grab is faltering behind GoTo Group in the stock markets as it fights to gain ground on its Indonesian ride-hailing rival’s home turf.
The unprofitable companies are both struggling to convince investors of their moneymaking potential after staging their stock market debuts in recent months.

Yet GoTo has fallen less than its competitor and its market value of about US$26 billion is now twice that of its Singaporean peer.
Grab and GoTo have been locked in an expensive battle for dominance over the past several years.
Grab still counts Singapore as its largest market even as it tries to expand in countries including Indonesia, South-east Asia’s largest economy.
GoTo is enjoying a leadership position in its home nation of more than 270 million people whose mobile-savvy consumers are shopping on its online-retail platform Tokopedia and ordering rides and food via its Gojek app.
The growth potential of Indonesia has helped GoTo outperform Grab, which became a publicly traded company through a merger with Brad Gerstner’s Altimeter Growth in December. GoTo has lost about 3 per cent since its initial public offering in Jakarta in April, while Grab is down more than 60 per cent since combining with the US blank-cheque company.
While Gojek has a strong grasp of the crucial Indonesia market, Grab has made inroads in food delivery.
Grab had 49 per cent of the Indonesian food delivery market last year, compared with GoTo’s 43 per cent, according to Momentum Works.
GoTo is set to release results on Aug 30.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Grab sees no big layoffs despite weak market​

Grab has not got to the "desperate" point of a hiring freeze or mass layoffs, said its chief operation officer. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

Sep 25, 2022

SINGAPORE - Grab - South-east Asia's biggest ride-hailing and food delivery firm - does not envisage having to undertake mass layoffs as some rivals have done, and is selectively hiring, while reining in its financial service ambitions.
Chief operating officer Alex Hungate said that earlier in 2022, Grab had been worried about a global recession and was "very careful and judicious about any hiring", and as a result, it had not got to the "desperate" point of a hiring freeze or mass layoffs.
"Around midyear, we did some kind of specific reorganisations, but I know other companies have been doing mass layoffs, so we don't see ourselves in that category," Mr Hungate, 56, told Reuters in his first interview since joining Singapore-based Grab Holdings in January.
The company was hiring for roles in data science, mapping technology and other specialised areas, though every hire was a much bigger decision than it used to be, he said.
"You want to make sure that we're conserving capital. The hurdle for making a hire has definitely been raised," Mr Hungate added.
Decade-old Grab, a household name in South-east Asia, had about 8,800 staff at the end of 2021. Like its rivals, it has benefited from a boom in food services during the Covid-19 pandemic, while ride-hailing suffered.
As economies open up, food delivery demand is softening while ride-hailing has yet to fully recover. Tech valuations have also fallen dramatically, and inflation, slower growth and rising interest rates have emerged as risks.

In recent weeks, South-east Asia's largest e-commerce firm Shopee cut jobs in various countries and shut some overseas operations, after parent Sea reported widening losses and scrapped its annual e-commerce forecast.
Mr Hungate, a veteran of the financial services, logistics and food sectors, has spearheaded a push away from low-margin business lines as Grab races to turn profitable.
Second-quarter loss narrowed to US$572 million (S$817 million), from US$801 million a year earlier. But in August, it cut its gross merchandise volume outlook for the year, blaming a strong dollar and ebbing food delivery demand.

In August, Grab said it was shutting dozens of so-called dark stores - distribution hubs for on-demand groceries - and slowing the roll-out of its "cloud kitchen" centralised facilities for deliveries.
"The other area where we've really tightened our strategic intent is in financial services, where we were growing payments, wallets and non-bank financial lending quite significantly off-platform and on our platform," said Mr Hungate.
Grab reorganised its fintech unit this year to focus on more lucrative areas, and Reuters reported on the exit of some senior executives.
Grab is now mainly focusing on selling its lending products and insurance on its platform to merchants and drivers who often repay from their income streams on the platform.
"As we make this shift, the business mix will move towards higher margins," said Mr Hungate.

Grab, which operates in 480 cities in eight countries, has more than five million registered drivers and more than two million merchants on its platform.
It caught global attention in 2018 when it acquired Uber's South-east Asian business after a costly five-year battle.
Grab is betting on growing financial services by offering banking and other products with partner Singtel in key markets.
It listed on the Nasdaq last December after a record US$40 billion merger with a blank-cheque company.
Mr Hungate said it was "good timing" for the company to look again at how it spends money, given the increased scrutiny of finances and the need to respond to shareholders.
"Maybe we were lucky in a sense that the discipline of being a public company came at just the right time," he said, adding that Grab's US$7.7 billion cash liquidity meant it was one of the best-capitalised industry players in South-east Asia.
Grab's shares have tumbled about 60 per cent this year, to give it a market value of US$10.6 billion.
Reuters reported in August that Grab's Indonesian rival GoTo was seeking to raise about US$1 billion through a convertible bond issue.
Mr Hungate said Grab would provide details of its progress towards profitability and other metrics at its first investor day on Tuesday.
REUTERS

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Grab sees slower growth while it pursues turning profitable in 2024​

Grab Holdings chief executive officer Anthony Tan says Grab is firing on all cylinders to improve its profitability trajectory. PHOTO: ST FILE
UPDATED

Sep 27, 2022

SINGAPORE - Grab Holdings expects sharply slower revenue growth next year as the South-east Asian Internet giant adjusts to a market downturn and speeds up efforts to reverse years of losses.
The ride-sharing and delivery provider gave the forecast for a 45 per cent to 55 per cent increase at its first investor day, trying to reassure shareholders that it is on the rebound. Analysts were projecting 84 per cent growth for 2023 on average.
The company also said it anticipates breaking even in the second half of 2024 on a conditional basis, and excluding one-time items.
“Looking ahead, we’re firing on all cylinders to improve our profitability trajectory,” chief executive officer Anthony Tan said at the company’s event in Singapore on Tuesday. “Grab is trying to achieve this by growing our top line in a sustainable manner.”
Grab, long considered one of the rising stars of South-east Asia, has struggled since it went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) in December 2021. Shares have tumbled more than 70 per cent as the company racked up losses in the post-Covid-19 era and the stock market soured on unprofitable tech ventures.
The company, which went public by merging with Altimeter Capital Management’s Spac in what was originally a US$40 billion (S$57.4 billion) deal, is now worth about US$10.8 billion.
Grab, which counts Japan’s SoftBank Group and Uber Technologies as its two biggest shareholders, expects losses to narrow to US$380 million on an adjusted basis in the second half of 2022.

Executives said it now aims to break even by the latter half of 2024 on an adjusted earnings basis before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda). That excludes as many as a dozen exceptional items, from fair value losses in investments to “restructuring costs”.
“It’s the right strategy, although the market is less patient now,” said DBS analyst Sachin Mittal, who rates Grab a "hold". He had estimated revenue growth of 77 per cent for 2023 and adjusted Ebitda breakeven in 2025.
In the meantime, the company said it has about US$6 billion of cash and liquid items on hand, giving it time to turn its on-demand and fintech services around.
Mr Tan’s vision of creating a so-called super app for South-east Asia was aggressive, but led to extensive losses. Grab lost US$3.4 billion in 2021 and has piled up almost US$1 billion of losses in the first two quarters of this year. Revenue this year is set to roughly double to as much as US$1.3 billion, Grab said last month.
The company started out focused on the ride-hailing business and competed effectively against Uber. The US company ended up selling Grab its business in South-east Asia in return for a stake in its Singapore rival. Grab then launched an ambitious - and expensive - campaign to expand into adjacent businesses, including food delivery and finance. It also added everything from hotel bookings and health services to gifts and entertainment experiences to its app.

Chief operating officer Alex Hungate said Grab will now have a more defined strategy, outlining an effort to make the company "South-east Asia's largest and most efficient on-demand platform that enables local commerce and mobility".
"This is not just a bunch of words on a page," he said. "This defines our strategy in a more focused way than we've ever defined before."
Grab also plans to expand its monthly subscription programme, where users pay a flat fee for deals across mobility, food and parcel delivery services on its app. It will also focus on corporate customers, groceries and advertising and fintech services to boost profitability.
The company is counting on turning around its loss-making delivery and financial services businesses to hit its profit target. It had previously forecast its deliveries division would get into the black by the second quarter of next year, when it should have margins of at least 3 per cent.
Grab expects its digital bank operation, run with Singtel, to break even only by 2026. BLOOMBERG

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

The Collapse Of Singapore's Largest Company​

 

[syed putra]

A $96.3 bil plunge in the share prices of Grab and Sea Limited casts doubt on Singapore's new economy aura

Food Delivery and ride hailing are not really new. In tbe old days they already got mcdelivery and pizza delivery. And delivery was free.
Abd radio taxis were in business since the 1970's.

 

[Patriotmissile]

How can a service company become so high value?

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

E-WALLETS VIRTUAL BANKING

Reuben Lai Is the Latest in a Series of High Profile Exits for Grab’s Fintech Business​

by Rebecca Oi November 8, 2022

GXS Bank (GXS)’s executive director and Head of Regional Office, Reuben Lai, has decided to leave the Bank at the end of 2022.
Along with his resignation as an executive director, Reuben will be stepping down from his appointment as a director in GXS’ Board in Singapore. He remains a director on the Board of the digital bank in Malaysia.

Reuben Lai

“Grab has taught me to think big and use technology to solve real-life problems for humanity,”

said Lai who has moved from his Grab Financial Group (GFG) role in May 2022 and has since been a full-time employee of GXS.
He added that there are indeed many problems, including the biggest risk (and opportunity) facing humanity now – climate change.”

Lai is one of the most senior leaders and a board member of GXS, the Singapore-based tech giant’s digibank. It was launched in Singapore this year after getting a full digital bank licence in 2020.
Grab has been hit by a series of high-profile departures recently, raising questions about the company’s ability to retain talent and grow its businesses.
Ankur Mehrotra, who quit as managing director of Grab Financial after a six-year stint to serve as president of Julo, an Indonesian fintech startup, is one of the latest high-profile executives to leave the company.
Chris Yeo and Jeffrey Goh, who were among the earliest executives at Grab’s fintech business, have also exited the company.
Yeo headed Grab’s payments and rewards business and has been with the company for nearly six years, while Goh led the payments gateway business.
The latest departures come as Grab’s losses rose to $3.6 billion in 2021, while revenue rose 44 percent, with investors focusing on how the firm plans to stem losses.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Grab’s Q3 net loss narrows to $449m as revenue more than doubles​

On the back of the positive showing, Grab has lifted its FY2022 revenue guidance to between US$1.32 billion and US$1.35 billion. PHOTO: ST FILE
Sharanya Pillai

NOV 16, 2022


SINGAPORE - South-east Asian on-demand player Grab narrowed its net loss to US$327 million (S$449 million) for the third quarter ended September, an improvement from the US$970 million loss in 2021. This was mainly due to the elimination of non-cash interest expenses from Grab’s convertible redeemable preference shares upon its December 2021 listing.
Revenue for the company grew 143 per cent to US$382 million in the third quarter, lifted by a doubling in mobility revenue and 250 per cent growth in deliveries’ revenue year on year. This came as gross merchandise value (GMV) was up 26 per cent to US$5.1 billion.
With this set of earnings, Grab’s deliveries segment has hit positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the first time, three quarters ahead of previous guidance. This was possible due to the optimisation of incentive spend and contributions from its Malaysian retail chain, Jaya Grocer.
The food-delivery sub-segment also turned adjusted-Ebitda positive in the third quarter, two quarters ahead of previous guidance.
On the back of the positive showing, Grab has lifted its FY2022 revenue guidance to between US$1.32 billion and US$1.35 billion, up from the US$1.25 billion to US$1.3 billion range. It has also revised its second-half 2022 adjusted Ebitda guidance to negative US$315 million, an improvement from negative US$380 million.
Under its cash-preservation strategy, Grab will repurchase up to US$750 million of an outstanding US$2 billion term loan. The facility was issued in January 2021 and has a tenor of five years.
The repurchase is expected to create significant interest expense savings, Grab said, adding that it had US$5.3 billion in net cash liquidity as at end-September, providing an “ample net cash buffer”. The company expects to hit group-adjusted Ebitda break-even in the second half of 2024.

The continued easing of Covid-19 curbs, as well as efforts to improve driver supply, lifted Grab’s third-quarter mobility revenue up 101 per cent to US$176 million. The segment’s adjusted Ebitda was likewise up 112 per cent to US$135 million. Driver numbers are, however, still short of pre-pandemic levels, with the monthly average number of active drivers in the third quarter at 80 per cent of that of the fourth quarter of 2019.
In the deliveries segment, the focus on higher-quality GMV transactions and contributions from Jaya Grocer sent revenue up 250 per cent to US$171 million. Grab also posted a commission rate of 21.2 per cent, up from 18.2 per cent in 2021. This brought the segment into the black, with an adjusted Ebitda of US$9 million, in contrast to the US$22 million adjusted Ebitda loss in 2021.
The financial services segment, however, sank deeper into the red, with a US$104 million adjusted Ebitda loss, wider than the year-ago US$76 million adjusted Ebitda loss. This came despite revenue having risen 44 per cent to US$20 million. The bottom line was weighed down by expenses in digibank operations.
Nevertheless, Grab highlighted that its loan disbursements are up 121 per cent year on year. The number of active drivers with a loan from Grab has more than doubled, while non-performing loans are in “low single digits”.

Revenue for the company’s enterprise and new initiatives unit, which includes its nascent GrabMaps business, more than doubled to US$15 million, driven by contributions from advertising services. The segment’s adjusted Ebitda was US$8 million, up from US$1 million in 2021.
Grab co-founder Anthony Tan said the third-quarter results show the company’s ability to drive growth and profitability at the same time, with deliveries’ break-even coming earlier than expected. “We accomplished this by staying laser-focused on our cost structure and incentives, while innovating on services that increase synergies within our super app ecosystem to promote transaction frequency, user retention and engagement,” he said. THE BUSINESS TIMES

 

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