2021 was a year of strong growth driven by the JustEat Takeway’s investments during the pandemic.
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Jitse Groen, CEO of Just Eat Takeaway: “After a period of significant investment, and with adjusted EBITDA losses having peaked in the first half of 2021, the Company is now rapidly progressing towards profitability.
"While the Northern European segment, with an adjusted EBITDA of €256 million in 2021, is the most profitable segment in the industry already, we also concluded the year with much improved adjusted EBITDA in our other operating segments.
"The team is working hard to make 2022 a successful year for both the Company and all our stakeholders.â€
Revenue on a combined basis grew by 33% to €5.3 billion in 2021, compared with €4.0 billion in 2020. The adjusted EBITDA margin(2) improved substantially in the fourth quarter of 2021, and as a result the adjusted EBITDA margin for the full year of 2021 was minus 1.2% of GTV, well within the guided range of minus 1% and minus 1.5% of GTV.
Northern Europe was the most profitable segment in the industry with an adjusted EBITDA of €256 million in 2021. In the UK and Ireland, the Company doubled orders in the past two years and is now on a clear path to profitability. In Southern Europe and ANZ, high investments into leading positions doubled the segment, in terms of orders, during the pandemic, with profitability improving going forward.
In North America, both in the U.S. and Canada, various states, provinces and local governments imposed mandatory fee caps on online food delivery marketplaces. This had a significant impact of €192 million on adjusted EBITDA. At the end of 2021, many of these have expired, but they remain in place in major US cities such as New York City and San Francisco.
Brazilian market leader iFood continued to deliver strong growth in 2021. GTV grew 55% in 2021 compared with 2020 and revenue grew 51% in the same period.
The Company’s business has accelerated with Active Consumers, Average Monthly Order Frequency, Returning Consumers and Average Transaction Values (ATVs) improving to above pre-pandemic levels.
The Loss for the period on an IFRS basis was €1,044 million in 2021, compared with €151 million in 2020. Operating losses in 2021 were mainly driven by investments in historically underinvested legacy Just Eat markets to reposition the business for online share gains.
In addition, Loss for the period was caused by a significant increase of depreciation, amortisation and impairment, an increase of financing expenses and one-off integration cost. All three items were directly related to the acquisitions made in the last three years and in aggregate amounted to approx. €350 million in 2021.
To concentrate on leadership positions and profit pools, Just Eat Takeaway management intends to discontinue its operations in Norway and Portugal, anticipated to be effective as of 1 April 2022. Adjusted EBITDA in Norway and Portugal is approximately minus €10 million on an annual basis and the impact on Orders, GTV and Revenue is immaterial. ■