The Irish arm of takeaway food delivery service Deliveroo last year enjoyed a Covid-19 boost as revenues soared by 64 per cent to €43.2 million.
New accounts show that revenues at Deliveroo Ireland Ltd increased by €16.85 million, from €26.34 million to €43.2 million, in the 12 months to the end of December.
Last year continued the company's rapid growth in Ireland, after revenues surged by 91 per cent from €13.76 million to €26.34 million in 2020.
The firm's directors said the increased revenue in 2021 was “a result of increased demand, the change in ordering behaviour and sales mix brought about the impact of Covid-19”.
The growth contributed to the company’s pre-tax profits, which jumped by 27 per cent to €819,246.
The directors added the company’s gross profits increased by 75 per cent, from €8.4 million to €14.74 million, “reflecting both increased demand and the scalable unit economics of the business model”.
“The culture of eating out will likely not revert to the way it was pre-Covid for some time,” the directors predicted.
Adaptability
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the directors said “as an agile and fast moving business, Deliveroo was able to adapt to the situation and make meaningful changes to the business at short notice”.
They added: “Mitigating the impact of such an unprecedented event was a huge challenge, and there will be a long-lasting impact on our business and that of our partners.”
Deliveroo's latest accounts also show the company's operating profit increased from €54,504 to €1.123 million, however, the firm’s profits reduced due to a foreign exchange loss and interest totalling €303,991, resulting in the pre-tax profit of €819,246.
The company directly employs 10 people in Ireland in sales, marketing and operations, with staff costs totalling €626,989 last year.
The company’s non-cash depreciation costs for 2021 amounted to €79,468, while the company's cost of sales was €28.45 million and administration expenses were to €5.05 million.
Headquartered in the UK, Deliveroo was established in 2013 and now has a market capitalisation of £1.57 billion - down from £5 billion last October.
The firm operates in 11 markets worldwide and has over 190,000 self-employed couriers, or ‘riders’, on its books.
In the first six months of 2022, Deliveroo plc reported pre-tax losses of £147.3 million as global revenues increased to £1 billion.
Globally, Deliveroo delivered 301 million food orders in 2021.
