(Reuters) -Delivery Hero expects revenues to more than double in 2021, the German online food takeaway firm said on Wednesday, as so-called quick commerce, which aims to deliver goods in as little as hour, gains traction.
The Berlin-based company expects revenues to reach 6.1 billion to 6.6 billion euros this year compared to 2.8 billion euros ($3.38 billion)in 2020.
It said it would keep investing in Dmarts, centrally located dedicated warehouses that cater only to online clients, and new markets such as Japan or Vietnam.
Delivery Hero and rivals such as Uber Eats, Just Eat Takeaway.com and Deliveroo have seen a surge in demand in pandemic lockdowns, but analysts are divided how much of that business will remain as restaurants reopen.
The German group, which operates in about 50 countries across Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, has invested extensively in the past year not only in food delivery but also in quick commerce, which has grown rapidly during the coronavirus crisis.
Quick commerce operations saw a significant expansion in the first quarter, Delivery Hero said, with orders growing more than 400% compared to the previous year.
In the first three months of the year the company operated over 600 Dmarts, active in 35 countries.
Delivery Hero, which has yet to break even at group level, said it expected a negative margin on adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of between 1.5% and 2.0% for the year.
First-quarter revenues more than doubled at 1.4 billion euros, making it the ninth consecutive quarter where revenue growth was around 100%.
($1 = 0.8283 euros)
(Reporting by Linda Pasquini, Milla Nissi in GdanskEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
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