Food delivery giant Deliveroo has seen an improvement in its sales and a slight recovery in order numbers in the UK and Ireland, in a sign of stronger demand among squeezed consumers.
The company revealed it thinks its yearly profit will be slightly higher than previous expectations.
It reported gross transaction value (GTV), which means the total cost of people’s food baskets plus delivery fees, of £1.1 billion for the fourth quarter in the UK and Ireland.
It marks a 7% increase at constant currency compared with the same period the previous year.
Order numbers edged up slightly in the region, up 1% to 40.9 million, signalling an improvement after reporting a slowdown in the number of people ordering takeaways over 2022.
Delivery firms have been grappling with lower consumer demand amid a wider pullback in consumer spending during the cost-of-living crisis, with growth also easing after a pandemic-driven boom during 2020 and 2021.
But Deliveroo said its international performance recovered over recent months, and it was seeing ongoing signs of consumer behaviour returning to more normal levels.
Across the takeaway giant, which operates in 10 countries including Italy, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates, total basket value rose by 4% for the latest quarter.
The company said it now expects adjusted earnings for the full year, before interest, tax, and other costs, to be slightly above the top-end of its previous expectations, which was between £60 million and £80 million.
Will Shu, Deliveroo’s chief executive and founder, said: “I’m really proud of the team’s execution in the fourth quarter, including launching our retail offering.”
The company launched a new “shopping” section of the app in November, where people can order non-food items including toys, DIY, electronics and beauty products.
Mr Shu continued: “We delivered a good performance in UK and Ireland and saw international return to GTV growth, with encouraging trends in several markets.
“As we saw ongoing signs of stabilisation in consumer behaviour in the quarter, we continued to invest in the consumer value proposition to lay the foundations for future growth.”
Rival takeaway firm Just Eat’s owner reported its biggest ever final quarter last year in the UK and Northern Europe, and also raised its earnings expectations.
