Talabat margin holds at 6.4% as Q3 net income reaches $119 million

Dubai: Talabat reported another quarter of steady expansion, with growth accelerating across both food delivery and its grocery and retail businesses. The platform said order volumes remained strong in every market, pushing up revenue, margins and net income during the third quarter.

Group GMV reached $2.4 billion in the third quarter, up 26% from a year earlier. Growth at constant currency was 27%. Revenue climbed 31% to $1 billion, while Adjusted EBITDA rose 21% to $154 million. Net income increased 31% to $119 million.

Management said the gains were driven by broad increases in customer acquisition and higher order frequency. Talabat noted that its subscription product, talabat pro, continued to record strong adoption, helping widen engagement levels. GMV from GCC markets accounted for 81 percent of the total.

The company’s grocery and retail business, still expanding from a smaller base, recorded faster growth than the food segment. The food vertical grew nearly 20% in the quarter, while grocery and retail expanded by more than 40%.

Adjusted EBITDA margins stood at 6.4% of GMV, while net income margins were 4.9%. Talabat said this reflected a mix shift toward grocery and retail, which typically carry lower gross margins, although cost efficiencies softened the impact.

Adjusted net income reached $112 million, up 15% year-on-year. Adjusted free cash flow came in at $99 million, lower than last year due to tax payments and the reversal of strong working-capital inflows in the previous quarter.

“Engagement levels have never been higher, with more than one in three customers now using multiple verticals, ordering both food and groceries through our app,” CEO Tomaso Rodriguez said. “ Over a quarter of our monthly active users are talabat pro subscribers, driving nearly half of total gross merchandise value. Our highest value customers, already ordering more than 30 times per month, also continue to increase their engagement as they discover new occasions to use our platform.”

Full-year guidance restated

The company reiterated the full-year forecast that was upgraded earlier this year. Constant-currency GMV growth is expected between 27 and 29%. Revenue growth should range from 29 to 32%, with an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 6.5% and a net income margin of 5%. Talabat plans to maintain a minimum dividend payout of $400 million.