Deliveroo losses widen as Simon Wolfson steps down from board
Wolfson joined the board as a non-executive director in January 2021 and has been CEO of Next since 2001.
Deliveroo has revealed its H1 pre-tax losses have widened to £147m from £95m the year prior and also confirmed that Next CEO Simon Wolfson has decided to step down from its board.
The food delivery service saw revenue increase 12% to £1.01bn in 2022 compared with £907m in 2021, additionally, gross profits increased to £300.9m in H1 2022 compared with £260.4m H1 2021, a 16% increase.
Wolfson joined the board as a non-executive director in January 2021 and has been CEO of Next since 2001.
Announcing his decision Wolfson said: “After much consideration, and with regret, I believe that the time required to continue in my role at Deliveroo is no longer compatible with my executive and other commitments. I have enjoyed my time working with Will, the executive team and my board colleagues over the past 18 months and wish the company all the best for the future.”
Will Shu, founder and CEO of Deliveroo, added: “Deliveroo is committed to delivering profitable growth. We are focused on driving the business to the milestone of adjusted EBITDA* profitability and then on to positive free cash flow generation. In March we set out our path to profitability and the levers to deliver this.
“So far in 2022, we have made good progress delivering on our profitability plan, despite increased consumer headwinds and slowing growth during the period. We are confident that in H2 2022 and beyond we will see further gains from actions already taken, as well as benefits from new initiatives. Underpinning our progress is a rigorous approach to capital allocation, ensuring that we invest behind the opportunities with the highest returns.”
He added: “Important as this financial lens is, we cannot lose our obsession with the three sides of our marketplace. So I’m especially pleased that we achieved our financial progress while also continuing to improve our consumer value proposition, adding selection across our restaurant, grocery and non-food categories, with brands like McDonald’s, WHSmith, ASDA, Auchan, Esselunga and ParknShop.”
Deliveroo also cited ongoing enhancements to the consumer value in its report, stating that grocery offering were strengthened with expanded or new partnerships in UK and Ireland, with Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Asda and Spar, as well as partnerships with McDonalds, WHSmith, and LloydsPharmacy.
