Deliveroo orders fall further but 2023 earnings expectations increased

But order numbers have been gradually falling back as people cut back on non-essential spending amid rampant inflation.

Orders declined a further 6 per cent over the past half-year, Deliveroo revealed.

“Starting last year, high food price inflation in many markets has put pressure on consumer spending power and affected demand for food delivery,” the company said.

But gross transaction value (GTV) – which means the total cost of people’s food baskets plus delivery fees – per order jumped by a tenth to £24.20 from £22.10 amid price inflation.

Deliveroo does not set menu prices for the restaurants on its platform, but it does set delivery fees based on how long or difficult the journey will be for the rider.

Deliveroo riders have protested over working conditions and pay this year.

Plans to cut some 350 jobs were announced in February, and the firm said on Thursday that the benefits of reducing staff had been “realised slightly earlier than projected” as it shed about 9 per cent of roles across the business.

The company minimised its losses over the period, nearly halving from £154m to £83m, and revenues edged up to surpass £1bn.

It said a stronger half-year performance and investment in more value options for consumers allowed it to hike its 2023 adjusted earnings guidance to between £60m and £80m, up from a previous £20m to £50m forecast.

It also revealed plans to return an extra £250m to shareholders.

In the UK and Ireland, orders dipped by just 1 per cent and GTV per order grew by 8 per cent.

Deliveroo said the stronger performance reflects progress made during the period to improve service, such as minimising missing items and late orders.

It also rolled out new features including “premium” delivery, where people can pay to have their order prioritised, and the option to top-up a restaurant order with groceries. Some 8,000 grocery shops are listed on the platform.

Will Shu, Deliveroo’s founder and chief executive, said: “I am very pleased with our progress so far this year.

"We have delivered a strong financial performance despite challenging macroeconomic conditions.

“This has been achieved alongside continued improvements to our proposition for consumers, riders and merchants.

“We remain excited about the number of opportunities we have to drive further growth in the medium and longer-term, and we have the team and resources to capture these opportunities.”

Victoria Scholar, head of investment, at interactive investor, said: “While Deliveroo has been dealing with increased labour costs, it has been trying to implement efficiencies in the rider network to help limit the inflationary impact.”