Taxi-hailing app loses $2.2bn in first nine months of the year amid setback to roll-out of self-driving cars

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Uber lost $2.2bn (£1.77bn) in the first nine months of the year despite a surge in revenues, according to reports, adding to the taxi-hailing app’s woes as it faces a setback in plans to launch self-driving cars.

The San Francisco-based firm was valued at more than $65bn in a $12.5bn fundraising effort earlier this year but has remained secretive about its financial performance.

People familiar with the matter said Uber had lost $800m in the third quarter and $2.2bn in the first nine months of the financial year, according to Bloomberg and technology site The Information (subscription).

The losses came despite its nine-month revenues surging from $3.76bn to $5.5bn, the reports said.

Passengers spent $5.4bn in the third quarter on Uber fees, which the company splits with its drivers, up from $5bn in the second quarter and $3.8bn in the first.

The slowdown in the growth rate of fees comes in the same year that Uber agreed to abandon its Chinese business in exchange for 17.5% of local rival Didi, which invested $1bn in the US firm as part of the agreement.

After paying drivers, Uber’s revenue was $1.7bn in the third quarter, up from $1.1bn in the previous three-month period.

Reports that Uber is still deep in the red come days after it admitted it was facing a safety setback with its plan to roll out self-driving cars.

The company said it had discovered a problem with the way the vehicles cross bike lanes, raising serious questions about cyclists’ safety.