Delivery Hero expects Asia recovery to boost fourth-quarter growth

By Linda Pasquini

(Reuters) -German online takeaway food company Delivery Hero said on Thursday it expected growth to accelerate in the current quarter, driven by a recovery in its Asian market, sending its shares up 8%.

The company said early signs in the current quarter were "encouraging," as orders returned to growth in the key South Korean market in October and a subscription program introduced last year was showing promise.

"We see subscribers ordering much more frequently than non-subscribers," Chief Financial Officer Marie-Anne Popp said in a call with Reuters.

The company expected to return to growth in Asia in the last quarter of the year, after recording a regional 3% decline in gross merchandise value (GMV) in the third quarter.

This would contribute to an acceleration in overall GMV growth in the final quarter, it said.

Third-quarter gross merchandise value, a common metric for delivery firms measuring the total value of all goods sold, grew 7% on a like-for-like basis at constant currency rates and excluding inflation, to 12.2 billion euros ($14.2 billion).

"Demand is still very strong" across markets, Popp said, adding that customers seemed very keen to order in, with the trend being unaffected "or even encouraged" by geopolitical uncertainty.

The company's quick commerce business, delivering groceries, household goods, and items such as flowers and pharmaceuticals, swung to its first ever quarterly profit in the third quarter, Delivery Hero added, on track to break even for the full year.

Popp said the company plans to invest further in the business, which represents 7% of its GMV, by expanding its so-called "dark stores" - distribution hubs for online shopping - and opening new ones in markets where it already offers the service.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

(Reporting by Linda Pasquini in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Jan Harvey)