Menulog grows footprint, revenue in Australia

London-based food company Just Eat posted its half-year results on Wednesday, including the latest results from its Australian subsidiary Menulog.

The takeaway food platform, which launched its own delivery service in 2018 (previously it only catered to restaurants that could ‘self deliver’), reported a 29 percent increase in revenue on a constant currency basis in the first half to £27.3 million.

Orders increased more than 10 percent year on year. Underlying EBITDA, however, fell into the red, with the company reporting a £2.1 million loss in the first half, compared to a £4.3 million profit in the prior corresponding period.

According to Just Eat, this was due to the cost of rolling out of its new delivery service. It had signed up 5700 restaurants to the service by the end of June and now covers 70 percent of the addressable population in Australia.

“We’ve been working at pace and made good progress in the first half of the year to become the preferred food delivery app for our customers, with a broader choice of restaurants, a better user experience and a more personalized and impactful approach to communication,” Just Eat interim chief executive Peter Duffy said.

“Australia has returned to top-line growth with our delivery operations achieving gross profitability. These are strong foundations for Just Eat to build on, as the business continues to drive forward.”

The company reported a 28 percent year on year increase in restaurant partners. It now has seven of the top nine international chains operating in Australia on its platform.

Active customers fell by 10 percent compared to the same period of 2018 due to a smaller EatNow platform – a subsidiary brand, which is set to be retired later this year. Average order value also fell 2 percent, from £23.49 during the first half of 2018 to £23.03.

“Effective action taken by our teams in a period of transition resulted in significantly improved performance in the first half of the year and has seen us reclaim market share,” the parent company wrote in a note to investors.