Grab reports 6% revenue rise in Q1 2022

Southeast Asian superapp Grab said its first-quarter 2022 revenue hit $228 million, up 6% from the same period last year, while its loss narrowed to $435 million, a 35% decline year-on-year.

Gross merchandise value (GMV) also rose 32% year-on-year to $4.8 billion, surpassing quarterly gross GMV and total payments volume (TPV) Q1 guidance for deliveries, mobility, and financial services, respectively.

“Our first quarter results are a testament to the resilience of Southeast Asia’s economy as we move past the worst of the pandemic restrictions. We are optimistic that our business will continue to strengthen as more countries pivot to living with Covid-19,” said Anthony Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Grab.

“In the quarter, we delivered strong top-line growth in deliveries as we expanded our merchant selection to give users more reasons to choose Grab. Our mobility business also rebounded and we expect it to gradually recover as Covid restrictions ease further and our active driver base increases,” Tan added.

Overall, GMV and revenue grew 32% and 6% year-on-year respectively, driven by mobility segment acceleration, strong core food and groceries growth as it expanded its merchant selection and contributions from Jaya Grocer.

Revenue rose 87% compared to the prior quarter, as total incentives in the deliveries segment moderated and this was the first quarter that included Jaya Grocer financial results since Grab closed the acquisition at the end of January 2022.

As countries eased pandemic restrictions further during the quarter, monthly transacting users (MTUs) rose 10% year-on-year to reach 30.9 million, while average spend per user, defined as GMV per MTU, rose 19% to $155, indicating resilient demand for our services.

Adjusted EBITDA was negative $287 million, declining from negative $111 million a year ago on higher regional costs and incentive investments, while adjusted EBITDA improved by approximately $17 million compared to the fourth quarter 2021, as total incentives in its deliveries segment came down.

Deliveries Segment

Grab’s delivery egment registered strong GMV and revenue growth driven by continued growth in food and groceries deliveries and contributions following its acquisition of Jaya Grocer. Deliveries’ MTUs and average spend per user grew by 26% and 19% year-on-year respectively, as its expanded its merchant selection and deepened local merchant relationships to give users more reasons to transact with Grab.

Mobility

The mobility segment showed signs of a rebound on both the demand and supply side of the marketplace. Furthermore, Grab sees the continuation of a gradual recovery coming out of the quarter, as countries like Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines loosened Covid and travel restrictions in March.

Segment MTUs continued to recover and mobility GMV rose 9% quarter-on-quarter, signaling demand recovery after the impact of Omicron in the first two months of the quarter. It increased its average monthly active drivers by 220,000 from the third quarter 2021 to the first quarter 2022.

Financial Services

Financial Services (Pre-InterCo) TPV grew robustly in the first quarter, driven by on-platform growth as well as strong MTUs growth of 18% year-on-year. Continued on-platform transaction growth enhances its Superapp flywheel, as GrabPay users have higher levels of retention rates, spending and cross-segment usage compared to cash-users.

Revenue and GMV grew 52% and 23% year-on-year respectively, driven by off-platform GMV growth and strong ecosystem lending growth. TPV of Grab’s Buy Now Pay Later product has grown 5 times from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022. Overall loans disbursed, that includes Buy Now Pay Later loans, grew 3 times in the same period.