Delivery Hero posts stronger than expected GMV growth in Q2

By Paolo Laudani and Eva Orsolya Papp

(Reuters) - German online takeaway food company Delivery Hero reported stronger than expected growth it its second-quarter gross merchandise value on Thursday and confirmed its full-year outlook on the back of higher order volumes.

Quarterly gross merchandise value or GMV, a common metric for delivery firms measuring the total value of all goods sold, grew 7.4% in constant currency terms to 11.89 billion euros ($13.24 billion). That beat analysts’ 11.57 billion euro forecast in a company-provided poll.

Its quickest-growing region was Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where it posted 28% GMV growth compared to a year earlier, excluding the effects of hyperinflationary environments in Turkey and Lebanon.

In a separate statement, Delivery Hero said it was preparing an initial public offering (IPO) of its Emirati subsidiary Talabat on the Dubai Stock Exchange in the fourth quarter.

The group’s shares, which have fallen around 85% from their January 2021 highs as investors shunned food delivery stocks after the pandemic frenzy, were 2% higher shortly after the market opened.

The planned IPO in Dubai is viewed very positively and there was no disruptive fire from the second-quarter figures, a trader said.

($1 = 0.8981 euros)

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani and Éva Orsolya Papp in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)