Lime looks to out-muscle Tier and Bird as e-scooter rivals scrap for profit
E-scooter investors will be looking ahead to operator Lime’s half-year results next Tuesday amid growing interest in whether the nascent sectors’ finances can stand up to scrutiny.
Lime has emerged as a leading player in the rapidly growing e-scooter and e-bike market, against tough competition from rivals Tier, Dott and Sweden’s Voi.
Increasingly developed electric battery and mobile phone technology, coupled with venture-capital financing have helped micromobility start-ups pop up around the world.
But the industry has faced intense scrutiny as investors fret over its capital intensive demands, with a number of operators struggling for cash this year.
Lime appears to be breaking out of the mould of wider trends in the sector. It delivered a record $466m (£373m) in gross bookings and became the first micro mobility giant to hit profitability, on an un-adjusted EBITDA basis earlier this year.
City PM understands next week’s financial performance will also break records, with a number of figures ahead of previous years and marking the operator out among rivals such as Bird and Tier.
In February, Sky News reported that Berlin-based Tier was working with Rothschild for a massive fundraising, with several sources telling the outlet it planned to raise as much as €1bn in new debt.
Tier itself has yet to turn a profit and has been through several rounds of layoffs, letting go of 180 people in August 2022 and another 100 in January.
Revenues at Bird have also shrunk this year, partly on the back of lower demand for trips. Last year, it’s audit committee found it had overstated revenues for more than two years by recognising unpaid customer rides and in November it warned of potential bankruptcy as cash dried up.
Start-ups in the sector have also had to recover from a massive reduction in urban footfall caused by the pandemic.
And public authorities have raised concerns over safety with Paris, which is home to Tier, Dott and Lime, banning the scooters from the capital.
London though has emerged as a key hub for Lime, driving up its booking figures as demand in the capital soars and it will play a key role in determing whether the group can continue last years’ strong growth on Tuesday.
City A.M. has learnt that Lime will expand its operation to between 3-5 more London boroughs by the end of the year as e-scooter groups compete to recieve contracts from local authorities – it currently operates in 10.
The company believes this larger presence in the capital will play a significant factor in its global operation which has seen the group expand into Rome, Madrid, Berlin, Oslo and a slew of cities in the Middle East and the US.