Uber announced on Thursday that it was withdrawing its 2020 guidance for gross bookings, adjusted net revenue and adjusted EBITDA which had been provided on 6 February 2020 during the company’s earnings call, writes Tech Crunch.
The company’s previous 2020 guidance was gross bookings between $75-billion and $80-billion, adjusted net revenue of $16-billion to $17-billion and an adjusted EBITDA loss of between $1.45-billion and $1.25-billion. Uber has yet to provide new guidance for 2020.
“Given the evolving nature of COVID-19 and the uncertainty it has caused for every industry in every part of the world, it is impossible to predict with precision the pandemic’s cumulative impact on our future financial results,” the company says in a statement.
Uber has also warned that it expected an impairment charge of between $1.9-billion and $2.2-billion because of declines in value on some of its minority equity investments.
Uber has minority stakes in Didi, Grab, Yandex.Taxi and Zomato, according to its latest annual report. This one-time charge is not expected to impact Uber’s first-quarter net revenue, adjusted EBITDA, cash/cash equivalents or other short-term investments, Uber says.
Uber also used Thursday’s change in guidance to highlight initiatives it launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a financial assistance programme for drivers and delivery people.
Uber says it plans to account for this programme as Contra Revenue, which will likely reduce GAAP revenue by an estimated $17-million to $22-million in the first quarter and an estimated $60-million to $80-million in the second quarter.
The company will exclude the impact of certain COVID-19-specific expenses from Adjusted Net Revenue and from Adjusted EBITDA to “help investors assess the impact of COVID-19 on our financial position.”
The company has scheduled its first-quarter earnings call for 1:30 pm PT 7 May.
Edited by Luis Monzon
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