Grab Holdings posted record profit and user growth in the first quarter of 2025, with revenue rising 18% year-on-year to $773 million and profit reaching $10 million. Grab announced unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025. "We had a strong set of results to start the year, sustaining robust demand growth momentum to achieve yet another quarterly record number of users on our platform, even amid the seasonal demand impacts from the Lunar New Year and Ramadan fasting period. We also grew the number of active partners on our platform, and now have more active driver- and merchant-partners than ever before," said Anthony Tan, group CEO and co-founder of Grab. "While we are cognisant that there are increased levels of uncertainty in the global macroeconomic landscape, we will continue to harness AI and our technological capabilities to improve the reliability and affordability of our offerings. This will increasingly position us as a counter-cyclical company that can weather through uncertainties in the macroeconomic landscape." “We continued to drive profitable growth across the business, with Grab achieving another quarter of record revenues, our 13th consecutive quarter of adjusted EBITDA expansion, and adjusted free cash flow scaling to $157 million on a trailing 12-month basis,” said Peter Oey, chief financial officer of Grab. “Looking ahead to the second quarter, we expect to drive strong, sequential on-demand gross merchandise value (GMV) and overall revenue growth, while remaining disciplined on costs as a company. We are also raising our full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to a range of $460 million to $480 million.” Key operational and financial highlights in Q1 2025 Revenue grew 18% year-over-year (YoY) and on a constant currency basis, with YoY growth accelerating from the prior quarter, to $773 million in the first quarter of 2025, driven by growth across all segments. On-Demand GMV grew 16% YoY, or 17% YoY on a constant currency basis to $4.9 billion, underpinned by YoY growth in On-Demand monthly transacting users (MTUs) and total number of On-Demand transactions of 18% and 21% respectively. Total incentives were $501 million in the first quarter of 2025, with On-Demand incentives as a proportion of On-Demand GMV at 10.1%, compared to 9.7% in the same period in 2024, as we focused on product roll-outs across mobility and deliveries to drive new user growth, and improve engagement among existing users. Operating loss in the first quarter was $21 million, an improvement of $55 million YoY, primarily driven by increases in revenue and lower share-based compensation expenses. Profit for the period was $10 million, an improvement of $125 million YoY, primarily due to reduction in operating loss and higher net finance income for the period, which includes $33 million of net foreign exchange gains. Adjusted EBITDA was $106 million for the quarter, an improvement of $44 million YoY from $62 million in the prior year period, as we grew On-Demand GMV and revenue, while improving profitability on a segment adjusted EBITDA basis and lowering regional corporate costs. Regional corporate cost for the quarter was $86 million, improving from $91 million in the prior year period and remaining relatively stable from $87 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. On a year-on-year basis, fixed costs within regional corporate costs reduced by 5%. Cash liquidity totaled $6.2 billion at the end of the first quarter, compared to $6.1 billion at the end of the prior quarter, with a substantial part of the cash inflow attributed to the continued growth in deposits from customers in the banking business, which increased to $1,432 million from $1,225 million from the prior quarter. Our net cash liquidity was $5.9 billion at the end of the first quarter, compared to $5.8 billion at the end of the prior quarter. As of 31 March 2025, a balance of $274 million out of the previously approved $500 million share repurchase programme remained available to be deployed. Net cash from operating activities was $73 million in the first quarter of 2025, an improvement of $84 million YoY, driven by profit before income tax compared to a loss in the same period last year, and an increase in deposits from customers in the banking business. Adjusted free cash flow was negative $101 million during the quarter, declining $7 million YoY due to higher working capital outflows, consistent with seasonal trends during the first quarter, and increases in capital expenditures. In April 2025, we published our 2024 ESG report where we shared more about the progress we have made on our commitment to our environmental, social and governance priorities. Our key ESG highlights in 2024 include $12.8 billion earned by driver- and merchant-partners on the Grab platform, a 16% increase YoY, and recording 99.9% of all rides occurring without any safety incidents. Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker
