Uber reports loss, but beats income expectations

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 2 (AFP): Uber reported better-than-expected revenue on Tuesday, fuelled by strong demand for the San Francisco-based company's ride-hailing and food delivery services that sent its shares upward.
Revenue more than doubled to $8.1 billion in the three months through June, a 105 per cent increase, at a time when many tech companies are struggling to navigate global economic turbulence.
Still, the firm posted a net loss of $2.6 billion, but investors shrugged it off and shares were up about 13 per cent in early trading on Wall Street.
Uber primarily attributed the loss to the falling value of its investments in financially-strapped companies such as Singapore's VTC Grab, US self-driving vehicle start-up Aurora and Indian food delivery service Zomato.
The ride hailing giant posted $1.8 billion in revenue from its freight operations, and said income figures got a boost from a change in how it accounts for its rides business in Britain.
Uber also notched gains in monthly active platform consumers, gross bookings and trips compared with a year ago, reflecting higher demand but also a higher number of drivers for its signature ride service and food delivery operations.