Delivery Hero lifts annual guidance again as quick commerce drives growth

By Ozan Ergenay and Paolo Laudani

Oct 28 (Reuters) - German food delivery company Delivery Hero, the target of a takeover offer from US rival Uber, on Wednesday raised its full-year forecast for the second time this year after reporting strong quarterly growth, helped by rapidly expanding quick-commerce operations.

The company now expects gross merchandise value (GMV), the total value of orders placed through its platforms, to grow 10%-12% this year, up from a previously targeted range of 9%-11%.

Analysts polled by the company forecast GMV growth of 9.1% to €51.63 billion ($57.48 billion) on average for 2026.

CEO Niklas Östberg told Reuters that strong momentum in the group's quick-commerce business, which delivers groceries and other everyday items on demand, was one of the key drivers behind the upgraded outlook and quarterly numbers.

"When you have a decent-sized part of the business growing 40%, then that helps overall growth, and I think that's why we have seen part of the acceleration," Östberg said.

The guidance hike comes as the firm weighs a takeover offer from Uber, which is seeking to expand its international footprint, against a backdrop of continued uncertainty over consumer demand.

Delivery Hero's third-quarter GMV amounted to €13.9 billion, up 13.6%, compared with €12.2 billion a year earlier.

Shares were almost flat in early trade.

TAIWAN BUSINESS UNDER REVIEW

Östberg also said Delivery Hero was still evaluating the future of its Taiwan business after regulators blocked the planned sale of its Foodpanda operations there to Singapore-based Grab last week.

"We will evaluate if we keep operating, if we try to find another buyer or not. They're still up for discussion," he said.

Östberg added the Taiwan situation had not been a significant topic of discussion in relation to the Uber transaction and was not a closing condition.

($1 = 0.8981 euros)

(Reporting by Ozan Ergenay and Paolo Laudani in Gdansk, editing by Bartosz Dabrowski)