\tDebt-laden Uber warned operating expenses would rise significantly in the foreseeable future, but talked-up potential growth in core business lines, as it put forward its case for investment in its forthcoming IPO.<\/p>\n
In its prospectus, the company revealed between its founding in 2009 and the end of 2018 it accumulated debt of $7.9\u00a0billion. In 2018 alone, it recorded a loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $1.8 billion (albeit this was down from a $2.6 billion loss in 2017).<\/p>\n
Among the many risk factors cited in the document, Uber warned it operated in very competitive sectors and faced a number of potentially damaging regulatory issues. It added the company may never actually be profitable.<\/p>\n
Potential issues include pressure in some countries to have the role of drivers redefined as employees rather than contract workers and uncertainty related to a deal to acquire Middle East rival Careem [1].<\/p>\n
Although it didn\u2019t reveal the estimated price of shares or how much it hoped to raise, CNBC and other US news outlets estimated it will sell $10 billion worth of stock in the listing and achieve a corporate valuation of around $100 billion.<\/p>\n
In his pitch to potential investors CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said over the last 18 months the company had \u201cimproved its governance and board oversight, built a stronger and more cohesive management team and made changes necessary to ensure our company culture rewards teamwork and encourages employees to commit for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also warned the company would not \u201cshy away\u201d from making short-term financial sacrifices for long-term gain.<\/p>\n[1] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/top-three\/uber-picks-up-careem-for-3b\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Debt-laden Uber warned operating expenses would rise significantly in the foreseeable future, but talked-up potential …<\/p>\n
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