Singapore-based superapp Grab has reported higher revenue and lower operating loss in the first quarter amid improvement of all segments.

The firm said in a statement that its revenue for the first quarter grew 24 percent year-over-year to $653 million, driven by revenue growth across all segments amid a reduction in on-demand incentives as a percentage of on-demand gross merchandise value (GMV).

The firm’s on-demand GMV grew 18 percent year on year, supported by strong underlying demand growth across deliveries and mobility.

The firm’s on-demand monthly transacting user (MTUs) also grew 19 percent year on year, despite seasonal headwinds as a result of the Chinese New Year festivities and the Ramadan fasting period in the first quarter.

The firm’s operating loss in the first quarter was $75 million, an improvement of $129 million year on year, attributable mainly to improvements in revenue and lower general and administrative expenses.

Its loss for the quarter was $115 million, an improvement of $134 million year on year, primarily due to improvements in group adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), and reductions in net interest expenses and share-based compensation expenses.

Its group adjusted EBITDA was $62 million for the quarter, an improvement of $129 million year on year compared to negative $67 million for the same period in 2023, as it continued to grow on-demand GMV and revenue, while improving profitability on a segment adjusted EBITDA basis and lowering regional corporate costs.

The firm’s 2024 adjusted EBITDA guidance has been raised to $250 to $270 million from $180 to $200 million previously.

Its full year revenue guidance remained unchanged at $2.7 billion to $2.75 billion, up 14 percent to 17 percent year on year.

“Our focus on product-led growth is bearing fruit, with on-demand GMV scaling to new highs in spite of the seasonal impact we usually see in the first quarter of the year,” Anthony Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Grab.

According to him, the firm’s push on affordability and reliability is pulling more people onto its platform and driving up order frequency.

“We also continue to see our partner earnings trending up,

“We continue to strengthen our category position and we will leverage this scale and our technological edge to serve our users and partners better,” he added.

Peter Oey, Chief Financial Officer of Grab, said they continued to drive profitable growth in the first quarter, as they achieved another record adjusted EBITDA.

“As we drive growth across our business, we remain focused on continued improvements in profitability as demonstrated by our ninth consecutive quarter of group adjusted EBITDA expansion while improving shareholder returns and managing our balance sheet,

“Pursuant to our $500 million share repurchase program, we have repurchased approximately $97 million worth of Class A ordinary shares in March, and also paid down the remaining $497 million balance of our Term Loan B,” he added.

The firm’s deliveries revenue grew 19 percent year on year to $350 million in the first quarter from $294 million in the same period in 2023.

The strong growth was primarily attributed to robust GMV growth from its food deliveries business, as well as growing contributions from Jaya and aAdvertising businesses.

Deliveries GMV grew 13 percent year on year to $2.7 billion in the first quarter, underpinned by an increase in transactions, as well as growth in deliveries MTUs.

Meanwhile, its mobility revenues continued to grow strongly, rising 27 percent year on year in the first quarter.

The segment’s growth was broad-based, with positive revenue growth across all of its core markets being driven by continued growth in domestic demand, as well as further growth in inbound international tourist demand.

Its mobility GMV increased 27 percent year on year to $1.55 billion during the quarter, driven mainly by a 27 percent year on year growth in mobility MTUs.

The firm’s revenue for financial services jumped 53 percent year on year $55 million in the first quarter.

The growth was driven by increased contributions mainly from lending across GrabFin and Digibank, and improved monetization of GrabFin’s payment services.

Grab is a leading superapp in Southeast Asia, operating across the deliveries, mobility and digital financial services sectors.

The firm is serving over 700 cities in eight Southeast Asian countries – Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Grab reports first quarterly profit; to buy back shares