Just Eat (LON:JE) posted its full-year results for 2018 on Wednesday, returning to profit.
The food delivery service reported profit before tax of £101.7 million, compared to a loss of £76 million in 2017.
Revenue was up 43 per cent year on year to £779.5 million, however cashflow fell 6% to £157.3 million after it acquired rival Hungry House.
Earnings per share climbed to 12.1p, up from a loss of 15.2p a year ago.
Looking ahead, Just Eat it expects full-year revenue in 2019 to be in the range of £1 billion to £1.1 billion.
The company’s interim chief executive Peter Duffy commented: “We are creating a leading hybrid offering founded on our unrivalled marketplace, combined with the targeted roll-out of delivery. This gives our growing customer base access to the greatest choice of restaurants and drives even more orders to our restaurant partners, ultimately strengthening the network effects of our business.
“We have a clear plan for the year ahead as our highly experienced team works hard to accelerate the execution of our strategy and we remain focused on long-term returns for shareholders.”
Meanwhile, chairman Mike Evans said: “The strategy set out last year is working and already delivering strong results. Our experienced management team, led by Peter Duffy, is working to accelerate the implementation of that strategy.
“Our leading hybrid marketplace gives Just Eat a real competitive advantage and we are pleased with the speed at which this is now being rolled out. The board’s search to identify Just Eat’s next permanent chief executive is underway and we will provide a further update when a decision has been taken.”
Cat Rock Capital, which owns a 1.9% stake in the business, has been encouraging Just Eat to merge with a rival.
Just Eat is also under pressure from rivals in the food delivery marketplace such as UberEats and Deliveroo.
Shares in Just Eat are currently -0.74% as of 11:23AM (GMT).
