Just Eat Takeaway.com NV (LON:JET) reported a surge in orders in the first quarter of 2021 as its core UK market almost doubled in size.
In an update for the period, the food delivery group reported it processed 200mln orders, a 79% increase on the same period last year, while gross merchandise value (GMV) jumped 89% to €4.5bn.
READ: Just Eat to prioritise market share acquisition over earnings
The UK was the firm’s fastest-growing segment during the period, processing 64mln orders, 96% higher than a year ago as the company signed new partnerships with brands such as Leon, Tortilla and Chipotle, as well as coffee chains Starbucks and Costa. Delivery order growth, meanwhile, boomed 695% in the quarter.
Elsewhere, Just Eat said it has accelerated the rollout of its employed delivery model, Scoober, throughout Europe, with expanded coverage in London and a rollout of the model in Birmingham. It added that it will continue to invest heavily in the business and prioritise market share over earnings and expects “further order growth acceleration for 2021”.
"The first quarter of 2021 marks our fourth consecutive quarter of order growth acceleration. Our fastest growing segment was the United Kingdom, and we are especially pleased with the roll-out of our UK Delivery network, which has reached an impressive 695% order growth rate year-on-year. We are also very proud of the acceleration in two of our highly profitable markets, with 77% order growth in Germany and 53% in the Netherlands. Just Eat Takeaway.com is in excellent shape and the start of 2021 has been very strong", Just Eat chief executive Jitse Groen said in a statement.
Shares in the company jumped 2.1% to 7,508p in early trading on Tuesday.