Grab Finally Posts First Adjusted Core Profit for Q3 2023

Grab used to be just a verb which means to take something, usually in a rushed fashion.

But ever since the ride-hailing giant came into the local scene sporting that verb as its name, the associations with that word have changed forever.

Just recently, Grab announced its adjusted core profit for the third quarter of this year (2023).

And the results look quite promising.

Here is more about what adjusted core profit means, and what Grab announced for the third quarter of this year.

Grab Announced Its Financial Results for Q3 2023

Earlier this week, on Thursday (9 November 2023), Grab announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2023.

The results, which were unaudited, revealed that the revenue of Grab grew 61% on a year-by-year basis to a whopping $615 million.

The loss for the same period improved by 71%, reaching just $99 million.

The group-adjusted core profit grew to $29 million, which meant that this was the first time Grab was profitable.

So, this third quarter of 2023 is definitely one for the books.

According to Mr Anthony Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Grab, this quarter was when Grab “achieved their first positive Group Adjusted EBITDA” while reaching “another all-time high in Group MTUs” with “increased earnings for [their] driver-partners”.

For those who are unaware, group-adjusted EBITDA can be understood as adjusted core profit. EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation.

It is a measurement of how current performance ties up with the performance of previous years.

The adjusted core profit being positive means that Grab is now “earning money” instead of “burning money”.

Let’s hope that this upward trend continues so the Southeast Asian ride-hailing app giant can continue to achieve new heights.

The Prospects for Grab Look Good

Indeed, Mr Tan still has big plans for Grab even though good results have been achieved.

In the same announcement, Mr Tan further shared that the company would “continue to drive growth in a sustainable and profitable manner”.

His plan is for the company’s “progress forward [to remain] anchored on improving [its] marketplace efficiency, building better and more affordable services for [their] users, and empowering the millions of everyday entrepreneurs on our platform to thrive”.

According to Mr Peter Oey, the Chief Financial Officer of Grab, the strong results in the past quarter of 2023 means that Grab is “revising up [its] outlook on full-year 2023 Revenues and Group Adjusted EBITDA”.

The company will continue to “sharpen [its] focus on generating Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flows while maintaining cost discipline to drive further operating leverage” in the future.