Singaporean “super app” Grab on Tuesday cut its earnings projections for this year, citing uncertainties stemming from the prolonged COVID-19 crisis in Southeast Asia.
Grab is one of Southeast Asia’s biggest tech startups. It offers delivery, ride-hailing, financial, and a range of other services, and plans to go public in the US later this year.
According to its announcement, Grab now expects to post gross merchandise value of USD 15 billion to USD 15.5 billion for 2021, down from the previous projections of USD 16.7 billion, made in April.
Likewise, it has lowered its projection for adjusted net sales—a metric the company uses to evaluate its business performance—to between USD 2.1 billion and USD 2.2 billion, from the previous USD 2.3 billion. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) is now projected to be in the range of minus USD 900 million to minus USD 700 million, down from minus USD 600 million.
Southeast Asia’s vaccination rates generally lag those of other regions, thus some cities still have strict safety measures to contain the coronavirus.
Grab “remains cautious of the renewed uncertainty of movement restrictions in Southeast Asia related to COVID-19,” the company said in a statement, pointing out its full-year outlook anticipates “an extension of partial and complete lockdowns throughout several countries.”
Its ride-hailing business will likely be most affected by the prolonged pandemic, while some of its other businesses may continue to benefit from the work-from-home shift.
Grab said the vaccination rates for its active drivers in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam are higher than the national vaccination rates as of August, with about 91% of its drivers in Malaysia and 92% in Singapore having been vaccinated.
Read more: Grab’s Q1 revenue hits USD 507 million, marking all-time high
Grab on Tuesday also revealed its results for the three months through June. GMV for the quarter grew 62% from a year earlier to USD 3.87 billion, partly on the back of last year’s low base, when many countries were under strict lockdowns.
Adjusted net sales were USD 550 million, up 92%. But the net loss widened to USD 815 million, from USD 718 million a year earlier, due to interest expense from its redeemable convertible preference shares, expenses for gaining market share, and other factors.
During the second quarter, the number of monthly unique users who paid for its services was 24.7 million, up 28% from a year earlier.
Concerning its Nasdaq listing, the company said it is on track to complete its merger with Altimeter Growth, a US special purpose acquisition company that valued Grab at about USD 40 billion, in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Grab is backed by SoftBank Group, Uber Technologies, Didi Chuxing, Toyota Motor, and other global investors. It operates in eight Southeast Asian countries: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It’s republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.