BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - After jumping into the black, the food delivery service Delivery Hero wants to multiply its operating profit in the current year. As recently, CEO Niklas Östberg is focusing on profit over growth, as he said in a surprising statement on Monday. Accordingly, the Berlin-based company aims to generate between 725 and 775 million euros this year before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and special effects (adjusted EBITDA). This is more than analysts had previously expected. The news brought only brief relief on the stock market.

After the start of trading, Delivery Hero shares initially rose by more than eleven percent. However, this quickly proved to be a flash in the pan: shortly after the first hour of trading, the share price fell by around two percent. On Friday, the share had already lost 22.6 percent in value. Since the turn of the year, the share price has fallen by around a third. Over the past twelve months, the loss has even amounted to around 70 percent. Even those who bought the stock five years ago, before the coronavirus boom, have now suffered a loss of more than 50 percent.

Meanwhile, Delivery Hero CEO Östberg is now aiming for a positive free cash inflow in 2024. The gross merchandise value (GMV) is expected to increase by 7 to 9 percent compared to the previous year. Adjusted turnover is set to increase by 15 to 17 percent. The Group excludes expenses for vouchers and discounts.

If this happens, business growth would accelerate significantly. According to preliminary figures, the gross merchandise value rose by 1.5% to almost 45.3 billion euros in 2023. Revenue adjusted for vouchers and discounts grew by a good 9% to just under 10.5 billion euros.

According to the figures, operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) reached over 250 million euros. Östberg and CFO Emmanuel Thomassin focused the Group strategy on operating profitability last year. As with rival Just Eat Takeaway, the long-held goal of particularly strong business growth is no longer the top priority.

William Woods from US analyst firm Bernstein Research sees the figures as "a positive signal amidst negative noise." Jeffries industry expert Giles Thorne also saw the surprising publication of the key figures as an attempt to counteract the recent slump in the share price. He described the new targets for 2024 as okay.

A media report had recently sent Delivery Hero's share price on a steep downward spiral. According to the "Business Times" from Singapore, a deal to sell parts of the Foodpanda business in South East Asia to Grab Holdings fell through due to differing price expectations. Delivery Hero denied the rumor on Friday: Negotiations on the potential sale are continuing, the company announced on Friday. The prospective buyer Grab, the top dog in Southeast Asia, delivers food, supermarket orders and parcels and also offers cab services such as Uber.

Delivery Hero is no longer active in Germany. The last attempt to assert itself in this country was scrapped after just a few months.

In addition, Delivery Hero sold its minority stake in the UK food delivery service Deliveroo at the end of January and probably took a large loss in the process. Delivery Hero is likely to have paid significantly more when it acquired the stake. Analyst Jo Barnet-Lamb from the Swiss bank UBS nevertheless considered the move to be a sensible one, as it would bring fresh money into the company's coffers.

The Group management plans to present the final figures on February 14./ngu/stw/men