Uber operating at big losses, suggests document leak Published duration 6 August 2015

image copyright Getty Images image caption It's been reported that Uber made a loss of over $100m in a quarter

Financial documents, allegedly from car-share start-up Uber, suggest the firm is running at losses of several million dollars each quarter.

They show operating losses of more than $100m (£65m) in the second quarter of 2014, albeit coupled with steady growth in revenue.

In a statement, the company hit back at reports but did not deny them."Shock, horror, Uber makes a loss," it said.

"This is hardly news, and old news at that," it added. "It's a case of business 101: you raise money, you invest money, you grow (hopefully), you make a profit and that generates a return for investors."

The company was recently valued at $50bn and is the most-funded start-up in the world.

There has long been speculation over the health of Uber's profit to loss ratio, a subject on which the company has never officially detailed the sums.

Positive note

One positive note to emerge was the fact that the company increased its cash holdings from $263m in 2013 to over $1bn the following year.

Uber has faced a string of difficulties this summer, including the arrest of two managers in France over allegations that the service was "illegal" there, and the imposition of a $7.3m fine in California after the company failed to provide detailed information about itself to regulators.

The car-sharing app has also been banned in a number of cities and countries around the world, including Spain, Thailand, several Indian cities and faces partial bans in Germany and the Netherlands.