Just Eat Takeaway 1Q Orders Rise 50% on Virus-led Delivery Boom

(Bloomberg) -- Just Eat Takeaway saw a 50% jump in first-quarter orders, as food delivery firms around the world see rising demand for their services with people ordered to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Takeaway also said it suffered from cyberattacks in the week starting March 16, affecting several hundred thousand orders, the company said in a statement Thursday.

Key Points

Takeaway said the onset of the coronavirus crisis in Europe caused order volumes to decline in mid-March due to restaurant closures and a significant reduction in lunch orders.Order volumes recovered strongly by the end of March, Takeaway said, adding “average order values increased markedly, which are expected to return to normal levels after the crisis.”Takeaway says it’s added thousands of restaurants after it saw a pick up in applications because of government bans on dine-in services.Dutch food delivery firm Takeaway merged with U.K.-based Just Eat earlier this year but the two businesses are being run independently under orders from U.K. antitrust authorities who are currently investigating the combination.The figures released Thursday only pertain to Takeaway’s business.

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Food delivery firms are adapting to the pandemic. Pizza delivery companies are listing new job postings while Uber Technologies Inc. is transitioning ride-hailing drivers to its Uber Eats service, which competes with Takeaway.

“Takeaway.com is one of the few, and privileged, companies that has only modestly been affected by the crisis,” Takeaway Chief Executive Officer Jitse Groen said in a statement. “The most notable effect on our figures has been, what we now believe to be, a temporary impact on our March orders.”

Still, analysts have warned that food delivery firms could still be impacted down the line if people are turned off by ordering food for hygiene reasons or if restaurants start to shutter. “Restaurant delivery may suffer as eateries can’t survive on delivery alone,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said in a recent note. “Even if restaurants try to stay open, demand may be depressed amid economic uncertainty.”Read more: Food Delivery Firms Start Contactless Services During Pandemic

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