Just Eat revenues climb by 62% to £157m

Online takeaway food service Just Eat processed orders worth more than £1 billion (€1.39 billion) last year, boosting revenues by 62 per cent to £157 million.

Just over 61 million orders were placed with the London-listed company which acts as a middleman between diners and restaurants, including 491,125 orders for Korma curries.

The company received over two million orders in Ireland last year showing a 58 per cent year on year growth.

Globally, the top cuisines were Italian, followed by Chinese and Indian, with 1,100 orders processed per minute at peak times.

Just Eat said revenues rose by 62 per cent from £96.8 million in 2013 to £157 million last year.

The company saw its pre-tax profits jump to £57.4 million, from £10.2 million in 2013. Profit after tax was £51.8 million last year.

In the UK, which accounts for almost three quarters of group revenues, Just Eat grew sales by 56 per cent to £45.5 million. It added over 4,500 new takeaway restaurants to the platform during the year, and increased its mobile offering with the launch of iPad and Android tablet apps.

During the year total mobile orders (including tablets) in the UK accounted for almost 61 per cent of total orders, up from 43 per cent in 2013.

The group spent £13.2 million acquiring subsidiaries and associates last year. It acquired Meal2Go for £3.7 million in February 2014, and also bought the collection-app business Orogo. It strengthened its position in Ireland by buying the number two operator Eatcity.ie; in France by acquiring a further 30 per cent stake in Alloresto for £5.8 million; and in Brazil through its merger with iFood.

Just-Eat chairman John Hughes said the company’s IPO last April has given it the financial strength to develop through acquisition, if opportunities to buy leading positions in markets of scale present themselves.

He said 2014 was “another excellent year” for Just Eat, with underlying EBITDA up 131 per cent to £32.6 million.

“As well as sharply higher order volumes in 2014, which increased 52 per cent year-on-year, we have seen a continuing shift to mobile,” he added.

Just Eat was founded in Denmark in 2001, but relocated to London five years later. The firm operates in 13 countries including Ireland, which is one of the largest markets for the company in terms of number of orders (though not necessarily revenue).

The company, which made a successful £1.5billion (€1.8 billion) debut on the London Stock Exchange last year, launched in Ireland in May 2008.

It has 45,700 takeaway partners globally, of which 1,600 are located in Ireland. The company had more than 750,000 active site users in Ireland last year, and processed more than 150,000 orders per month in Ireland.