Ride-hailing and food-delivery app Grab on Monday announced a jump of its total group net revenue of about 70% in 2020, despite the impact of COVID-19. The company’s revenue has now more than doubled from pre-pandemic levels, said group president Ming Maa in a newsletter.
“We’ve continued to be disciplined with spending and prudent in stewarding our shareholder capital,” Maa said. “Monthly EBITDA spend has been reduced by approximately 80% over the last 12 months.” He mentioned that the company has hit growth and profitability targets.
Maa said that food delivery contributed the most during this period, as net revenue nearly tripled year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020. He expects the business to break even by the end of 2021. The group’s ride-hailing service last year became profitable in all markets it operates.
Maa believes that partnering with small businesses will be the key to success. In 2020 alone, the company has onboarded nearly 600,000 new merchants across Southeast Asia.
Grab aims to continue its focus on the more than 70 million small and medium-sized enterprises in the region. It has added new initiatives to accelerate digitization of SMEs, including the launch of B2B marketplace GrabMerchants. The feature supports their wholesale grocery procurement and marketing with a “visibility booster.”
Grab also recently obtained a digital full bank license in Singapore, in a consortium with Singtel. Maa said that it will accelerate its plan to serve more underbanked individuals and SMEs in the country.
According to a Reuters report after the announcement, the company is now seeking a USD 750 million term loan. Grab hasn’t responded to KrASIA’s request for comment.
