Uber Freight, the freight division of Uber, is writing red figures. Quarterly figures published on Thursday show that the US company made a $55 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2019.
With its app Uber Freight, Uber pairs truck drivers with loads. The giant does not have its own fleet and drivers, but merely acts as a platform where carriers and shippers can find each other. Uber Freight has been operating in the US market for three years. In 2019, it made the move to continental Europe, with the Netherlands serving as a test country.
No profit yet
Uber Freight has yet to make a profit. Indeed, black figures seem increasingly distant. In the same period in 2018, Uber Freight wrote a loss of $23 million. A year later, that loss stands at $55 million. That does represent an improvement from the third quarter of 2019; at that time, the result was stuck at $81 million in the minus.
'Growth not at any cost'
The freight app's revenue rose 75 per cent in a year to $219 million. Compared to the previous quarter, revenue grew by only $1 million. Big corporations like Uber usually take their losses for granted as the focus is on growth. When presenting its figures, however, Uber stated that growth can no longer come at a cost. Investors would demand not only growth, but also profit growth.
