Grab Holdings raised its full-year earnings forecast after quarterly sales beat estimates, a sign that the Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food-delivery market might be a bright spot in a tech industry rattled by global trade tensions.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization will be as much as US$480 million ($627.95 million) this year, rather than the up to US$470 million projected previously, Singapore-based Grab said Wednesday. Analysts were predicting US$467.6 million.
First-quarter sales rose 18% to US$773 million, surpassing the average estimate of US$766 million.
Grab, the largest of Southeast Asia's ride-hailing and delivery firms, is trying to prove its cost-cutting drive is yielding results. Like its backer, Uber Technologies, it has slashed jobs and reined in spending to pivot toward profitability.
Grab has also pushed into new areas through acquisitions while trying to maintain a healthy balance between profits and growth even as competition from rivals including GoTo Group weighs on its ride-share and food delivery margins.
Shares of Grab, which had been one of Southeast Asia's hottest start-ups, have lost about half their value since it went public through a US blank-cheque company in late 2021. Still, they've gained more than 30% over the past 12 months as the company's earnings improved, in line with the stock performance of GoTo, its main regional competitor.
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In a move that would upend the regional market, Grab is weighing a takeover of GoTo at a valuation of more than US$7 billion. While the regulatory hurdles are considerable, both companies have accelerated talks for a combination, Bloomberg News reported.
First-quarter adjusted Ebitda at Grab rose 71% to US$106 million, topping estimates. GoTo on Tuesday reported its third straight quarterly profit on an adjusted basis, helped by cost cuts.
Grab stuck to its full-year sales forecast, with chief financial officer Peter Oey saying that consumers might tighten their belts as a result of the economic impact from US-led tariffs.
"If we see a lot more confidence in terms of what's ahead of us, we'll continue to fine-tune the revenue guidance," Oey said in an interview after the results. "We're going to need to make sure that we can execute despite the uncertainty around the world."
Grab is also betting on new initiatives and products in areas from digital finance to its core delivery services, saying last year that such efforts should help its revenue accelerate from 2025. This month, it announced a slew of new products aimed to increase spending, where users can open new family accounts, pool orders for food delivery with strangers and make advance bookings for airport pickups.
Growth has cooled dramatically from triple-digit rates in years past as customers in the region curb spending to cope with elevated inflation and interest rates.
Chart: Bloomberg
