Deliveroo plc

2024 constant-currency GTV grew 6% year on year; excluding Hong Kong, group GTV growth was 8% and international GTV growth was 9%. Revenue grew 3% in constant currency. Adjusted EBITDA was £130 million, up 52% year on year, with EBITDA margin at 1.7%, up 50 basis points. Gross profit margin was 10.3%, flat year on year. Free cash inflow was £86 million, or £25 million normalized for working capital; normalized free cash inflow excluding exceptionals was £72 million. Net cash ended at £668 million. For 2025, excluding Hong Kong, Deliveroo guided to high-single-digit constant-currency GTV growth and adjusted EBITDA of £170 million to £190 million. Management said UK digital services tax will be a drag of about 15 basis points to take rate and margin in 2025, and cash tax next year is expected to be two to three times this year.

Will Shu framed 2024 as evidence that Deliveroo has become a materially stronger business, emphasizing the move to statutory profit, positive free cash flow, and a more resilient model built around the CVP, vertical expansion, loyalty, and delivery quality. He said the company is focusing on what it can control in a still-uncertain consumer backdrop and argued that improving price value, service, selection, grocery, and retail can unlock faster growth over time. His tone was confident but pragmatic: he repeatedly acknowledged a competitive market, slower-than-expected consumer recovery, and the need to make hard calls such as exiting Hong Kong.

Scilla Grimble highlighted that 2024 profitability benefited from operating discipline and network efficiency: gross profit margin stayed flat at 10.3%, cost of sales improved by 90 basis points as a percentage of GTV, and marketing and overheads improved by 50 basis points. She pointed to strong cash generation, including £86 million of free cash inflow, £668 million of net cash, and £120 million of share buybacks in 2024, with about 95% completion of the previously announced £150 million program. On capital allocation, she said the priority remains funding growth while keeping sufficient headroom, and she announced a new £100 million buyback that still leaves the group with just over £500 million of pro forma cash. She also flagged rising cash tax as profitability grows, saying 2025 cash tax should be two to three times 2024.

Analysts focused on three areas: why margin should accelerate in 2026 after slower 2025 progress, how competition may shift if rivals like Meituan or Prosus/Just Eat Takeaway step up, and whether Hong Kong’s exit signals vulnerability in other markets. Management said 2025 is a year of investment ahead of the flywheel, plus a one-time 15 bps UK digital services tax drag, while 2026 should benefit from higher GTV growth, operating leverage, and non-linear efficiency gains. On competition, Will Shu said the strategy is not set by rivals, the UK is strongly differentiated, and Hong Kong was less attractive because of demographic change and heavy discounting; Scilla added that nearly all markets are now positive contributors. They also explained that Q1 trading looks similar to Q4, but they are waiting to see how UK wage and national insurance increases pass through to consumers.