Uber Reveals That Its Sales Figures Grew Faster Than Losses

Despite not being required to publicly announce its finances since it is privately held, Uber has revealed that sales grew faster than losses. This comes as the ride-hailing company tries to put behind a recent wave of scandals.

In 2016, the gross bookings increased by over twice the amount to reach $20 billion. Net revenue for the company was $6.5 billion. Without taking into account Uber’s China business which the company disposed of last year, adjusted net losses came to $2.8 billion.

Gross bookings rise

The last quarter of 2016 also saw gross bookings at the ride-hailing firm rise by 28% compared to the second quarter to reach $6.9 billion. Fourth-quarter revenues increased by 74% from the preceding quarter and reached a figure of $2.9 billion. Losses also grew by 6.1% from the preceding quarter to reach a figure of $991 million.

Uber did not, however, reveal the numbers for the first quarter but only said they were what the company was expecting and that they had to be withheld because they were yet to be presented to investors. The ride-hailing firm admitted that despite the bad press it has been receiving in the past few weeks, there was nothing to worry about concerning the performance of the business.

“We’re fortunate to have a healthy and growing business, giving us the room to make the changes we know are needed on management and accountability, our culture and organization, and our relationship with drivers,” the head of Uber’s ride-hailing business in the United States, Rachel Holt, said in a statement she emailed to Bloomberg.

Wave of controversies

Some of the controversies that the company has had to deal with in the recent past include sexual harassment allegations against male employees at the firm by a former female employee. The chief executive officer of the company, Travis Kalanick, was also captured on video in an argument with an Uber driver over pay.

An investigative report by a major national newspaper also disclosed that Uber had been using a software to deceive and avoid city and government authorities. In addition, Google’s self-driving unit, Waymo, has sued Uber for stealing trade secrets through an employee who previously worked at Google before being hired by Uber.

Since its founding in 2009, the ride-hailing firm has burned through cash totaling more than $8 billion. Currently, Uber has cash reserves of about $7 billion as well as a credit facility of about $2.3 billion that lies untapped.