Uber (NYSE: UBER) saw its best quarter in its 12-year history as record numbers of gross bookings continued to help the company recover from its pandemic lows. In Q1, the company announced that while the food delivery division of its business saw significant growth, the number of ride-hailing bookings remained flat from the previous quarter, representing an overall 38% decline compared to the previous year.
The company reported Q1 gross bookings of $19.5B, up 24% from the same period last year. Q1 revenues also reached $3.5B, excluding the $600 million charge the company expects to take in the future, giving its 70,000+ UK drivers more benefits. The food delivery division subsequently accounted for nearly half of Uber's total revenues at $1.7B, representing a 230% increase from Q1 in 2020.
Uber saw a $359M loss in Q1, which was a 41% improvement from last year's Q1 loss. As a result, the company remains steadfast towards its goal of turning a quarterly profit, on an adjusted EBITDA basis, by the end of 2021.
After the pandemic had devastated the business and caused a shortage of available drivers on its platform, Uber continues to actively work towards improving its rideshare division, and the company expects rideshare performance to improve as pandemic restrictions ease around the world.
In an investor call, the company stated that it saw some improvement in April, where gross rideshare bookings were increasing 5% month-on-month. Bookings were also up in locations such as Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, and the UK compared to last year.