Just Eat sees 51% jump in takeaway orders

Just Eat has reported a 51 per cent rise in orders for its first quarter, maintaining the growth rate of the online takeaway service as rivalry in its sector intensifies.

The FTSE 250 company has changed the way takeaways are ordered, with its app and website acting as a middleman connecting tens of thousands of restaurants with consumers who want to be able to shop around on one platform.

A trading update on Monday showed first quarter orders had increased by 51 per cent on the same period a year ago, including orders from its French business Alloresto and Mexican business Sindelantal, acquired in February.

On a like-for-like basis, excluding the recently consolidated companies, orders were up 47 per cent.

This is broadly in line with the 52 per cent annual growth rate reported at its full-year results in March, which showed Just Eat processed over 61m takeaway orders for restaurants in 2014 worth over £1bn, on which it charges around 10 per cent commission.

The most popular single dish ordered in quarter one was a doner kebab, the company said, closely followed by a margherita pizza. Compared with 2014, the fastest growing cuisine ordered online was Indian. New entrants included Hungarian food and steak restaurants.

"I am pleased to see the continued shift of consumers to the ease and convenience of ordering food through Just Eat's apps and websites," said David Buttress, chief executive, whose business card also describes him as an "anti cooking activist".

David Reynolds, equities analyst at Jefferies, said he had "two key takeaways" from the results, stating that as order growth "remains robust" consensus figures about 2015 annual revenues were likely to increase 5 per cent to £210m - £215m adjusted for currency movements.

Operating in 13 countries, the UK's £5bn takeaway market is the most lucrative for Just Eat, which went public last April in a float that valued the business at about £1.5bn.

In the UK, where more than 60 per cent of orders are placed via mobile devices, the group has benefited from first mover advantage, but there are smaller challengers including Hungry House and Deliveroo who have entered the market.

In the US, taxi app Uber is making a push into the takeaway food delivery market, announcing a week ago that its UberEATS service would launch in New York and Chicago following successful trials in Los Angeles and Barcelona.

Another US competitor, GrubHub, listed on the New York Stock Exchange for $1.9bn last year.

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