SAN FRANCISCO, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) – U.S. ride-hailing company, Uber Technologies, said on Monday that, the company is closing its on-demand food operations in seven countries in a month.
The company announced that it would fully discontinue Uber Eats operations in the Czech Republic, Egypt, Honduras, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Ukraine by June 4, 2020, while Uber Rides operations would not be affected, according to Uber’s regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Consumers and restaurants using the Uber Eats app in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be transitioned to the Careem platform, in the coming weeks, after which the Uber Eats app will no longer be available, the filing said.
Careem is the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary that mainly focuses on the Middle East market.
“These decisions were made, as part of Uber’s ongoing strategy to be in first or second position in all Eats markets, by leaning into investment in some countries while exiting others,” said Uber’s filing.
“The discontinued and transferred markets represented one percent of Eats Gross Bookings and four percent of Eats Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) losses in the first quarter of 2020 … We will look to reinvest these savings in priority markets, where we expect a better return on investment,” said the company, which will hold its quarterly conference call, to discuss financial results for the first quarter, on May 7.
