Just Eat Takeaway upbeat as margin growth in UK and Ireland business helps lift earnings

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Just Eat Takeaway beat expectations in 2023 despite dwindling demand in its North American arm. 

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the year improved significantly to €324m (£277m) from €19m (£16m), while revenue per order improved by 12 per cent. 

Gross transaction value (GTV) returned to growth in 2023. GTV for the droup including North America was €26.4bn (£20bn), down four per cent when compared with 2022.

Russell Pointon, director of consumer at Edison Group said: “The UK and Ireland segment, in particular, has shown strong momentum, with adjusted EBITDA margins approaching levels seen in Northern Europe. 

“This indicates effective delivery efficiency enhancements and operational streamlining.”

He added: “While the North America segment experienced a slight dip in orders and GTV, the significant improvement in adjusted EBITDA to €126m (£107m) from €65m (£51m)  in 2022 reflects the company’s focus on cost optimisation and investment in new verticals.”

Just Eat in the past forked out over £5m to feature rapper Snoop Dogg in its adverts, and since has had a host of celebrities including Katy Perry feature as the face of the brand. 

It now expects to print adjusted EBITDA of approximately €450m (£355m). 

Jitse Groen, chief  of Just Eat Takeaway.com, said: “I am particularly pleased with the strong momentum in the UK and Ireland, with adjusted EBITDA margin rapidly approaching a similarly high level as Northern Europe.”

“Overall, the business is in a strong position to capture further improvement to our topline performance, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow in 2024.