Uber has seen a rebound in ride bookings during the
past few weeks, particularly in markets that are loosening lockdown
restrictions, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Thursday in an earnings call.
Globally, Uber's April ride business was down about 80 per cent
year over year, but this week has been the fourth in a row of week-over-week
growth, he said. Khosrowshahi said US bookings have hit their bottom, with
gross bookings last week up 14 per cent in New York, 8 per cent in San
Francisco, 10 per cent in Los Angeles and 11 per cent in Chicago compared with
the previous week. Some markets globally have seen larger recoveries, including
Hong Kong, where bookings have reached 70 per cent of the levels they were at
before the Covid-19 crisis.
"Our expectation is that the recovery will vary
geographically and be nonlinear, meaning some markets recover while others
temporarily retreat," Khosrowshahi said. "As the only truly scale
global player, we think this represents an advantage, both in terms of revenue
coming in as well as operational insights we can apply across markets."
For the first quarter, revenue from rides was up 2 per cent
year over year to US$2.47 billion. Gross bookings were up 20 per cent year over
year for January and February, but they declined 40 per cent year over year in
March as the Covid-19 crisis began to take hold throughout the world.
Khosrowshahi said he expected commuting would lead Uber's
recovery, which he said "will open up exciting new prospects for Uber for
Business, as companies look to move their employees to and from offices."
Uber is working to cut a total of $1 billion in fixed costs,
including its announcement last week that it would cut its customer support and
recruiting teams by more than 3,700 employees. Careem, Uber's subsidiary in the
Middle East, has cut its workforce by 31 per cent, he said.
In the meantime, growth in Uber Eats has made up some of the
losses from rides. Despite the decline in April bookings, total company
bookings for the month were down only 40 per cent year over year, thanks
largely to growth in the Eats business, Khosrowshahi said.
For the first quarter, Uber reported a net loss of $2.95
billion, compared with a $1.01 billion net loss in the first quarter of 2019.
Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, Uber had hoped to reach profitability by the end
of this year, and Khosrowshahi said the crisis is derailing that plan "by
a matter of quarters, not years. Reaching profitability as soon as possible
remains a strategic priority for us."