Corona Capital: Just Eat Takeaway.com, Malaysia

Cupani Metals

13/01/2021 11:17

(The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists.  The
opinions expressed are their own.)
    By Breakingviews columnists
    LONDON/HONG KONG, Jan 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Corona
Capital is a column updated throughout the day by Breakingviews
columnists around the world with short, sharp pandemic-related
insights.

    LATEST
    - Just Eat Takeaway.com
    - Malaysia

    APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION. Food delivery companies are the
obvious winners of the pandemic, but the question is at what
cost. Just Eat Takeaway.com  TKWY.AS , the $18 billion
Anglo-Dutch food delivery firm, on Wednesday reported https://www.justeattakeaway.com/investors/results-and-reports
 a 57% growth of total orders in the three months to December
compared to the same period last year. Takeout meals delivered
by Just Eat-hired drivers instead of restaurants have grown
fourfold in the United Kingdom year-on-year in the fourth
quarter to nearly a third of the country’s total orders, from 8%
last year.
    However, as a result of massive investment in new delivery
drivers, Just Eat’s full-year adjusted EBITDA margin is 10%,
below the 13% forecast by analysts, according to Refinitiv data.
Boss Jitse Groen said the company will continue to invest
heavily and prioritise market share over adjusted EBITDA. Shares
fell 4% on Wednesday morning.
    He has to. Rival Deliveroo, backed by Amazon.com  AMZN.O ,
which has long operated its main fleet of self-employed drivers,
is expanding aggressively across the UK  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2JM4AI and looking
to IPO soon, which will provide it with more firepower to grow
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2GY1ZO. Despite Groen’s reluctance to develop his own
delivery fleet, competition proves that he has to  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2HC5D7.
(By Karen Kwok)

    RUBBER MEETS ROAD. Malaysia enters its first state of
emergency in 50 years on Wednesday to battle a rising
coronavirus caseload  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2JN20J. The suspension of parliament
has been blasted by opposition to Prime Minister Muhyiddin
Yassin given the existing virus-fighting support, including this
week’s introduction of a travel ban  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JM0N1, plus a
two-week lockdown for Kuala Lumpur and five states.
    Malaysia’s economy contracted by just 2.7% in the third
quarter from a year earlier, as manufacturing growth offset weak
household spending  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2HY0YX. The country’s stock market,
thanks in part to rubber-glove makers, outperformed rivals last
year and appears sanguine about this latest development.
Politics could yet change that, however. Muhyiddin, holder of
only a narrow majority since a power struggle gave him the top
job in March, has promised elections as soon as it is safe.
Malaysia’s last national emergency lasted two years. The longer
this one runs, the warier investors will get. (By Jennifer
Hughes)
    
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 (Editing by George Hay, Jeffrey Goldfarb and Oliver Taslic)