Uber trims losses and grows business, plans new stock sale

SAN FRANCISCO: Uber cut its losses almost in half and its ride bookings jumped 51 percent since one year ago, the Silicon Valley ride-services firm said on Wednesday, showing that months of scandal and retreating from overseas markets have not slowed its business.

Uber Technologies Inc also reported a one-time gain of $2.5 billion, income that came largely from selling its business units in Russia and Southeast Asia, a sign of how expensive Uber´s overseas operations can be when it tries to go up against local competitors.

The overall improvement of the company´s finances, reflected in Uber´s first-quarter results, comes after a year of controversies that involved sexual harassment allegations, lawsuits from drivers and employees, allegations of trade secrets theft, federal investigations and the revelation of a massive data breach.

The results reflect the second full quarter under Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who replaced founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick last year.

Khosrowshahi plans on taking the company public next year, and must trim losses, hire a chief financial officer after a three-year vacancy and prove Uber can make a profit.

Also on Wednesday, Uber said it would hold a secondary stock sale for employees and existing investors that would value the company at $62 billion, up from the $48 billion valuation it commanded in a secondary sale late last year.

Coatue Management, a new investor, and existing Uber investors Altimeter Capital and TPG will purchase up to $600 million of stock at $40 a share.

The transaction will launch next week and likely close at the end of June, Uber said. The deal does not bring in new money for the company but rather allows employees and investors to get some cash for their stock even as the company remains private, a sign that Uber management is trying to appease long-time shareholders antsy for a payout. In Uber´s previous secondary stock sale, which was led by SoftBank Group Corp, there were so many eager sellers that shareholders could sell only a fraction of what they wanted.