Uber Posts Record Rider Demand in March -- Update

By Dave Sebastian

Uber Technologies Inc. said it sees ride-hailing demand recovering faster than driver availability as Covid-19 vaccination rates increase in the U.S.

The company on Monday said its gross bookings for March rose to its highest monthly level in its nearly 12-year history. Uber's mobility business, which includes ride-hailing, had its best month since March 2020, it said.

Uber overhauled its business during the health crisis, cutting about a quarter of its staff and shedding noncore businesses, among other moves, leading it to save $1 billion in fixed expenses last year.

The company said demand also continued to exceed courier availability for its meal-delivery business. The delivery business, combined with cost cuts, helped cushion the pandemic's hit on Uber's core ride-hailing operations during the pandemic, and the company posted a narrower full-year loss in February.

Uber said it is on track to reach profitability in quarterly adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this year. The company earlier this month said it was spending $250 million in bonuses in an effort to boost driver availability in the near term.

However, the company said it expects to take a hit in the first quarter from recording historical claims related to a settlement process for U.K. drivers. The U.K.'s top court in February ruled that a group of former drivers for Uber were entitled to a minimum wage and other benefits while working for the company, dealing a setback to Uber and other gig-economy firms in world-wide battles over their employment model. Since mid-March, the company has classified private-hire drivers using its platform in the U.K. as workers.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 12, 2021 08:59 ET (12:59 GMT)

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