E-scooter sharing firm VOI breaks even, raises $30 mln to expand

VNV Global AB (publ)

16/07/2020 06:00

STOCKHOLM, July 16 (Reuters) - Sweden's VOI Technology is on
track to make an annual profit in 2021 after breaking even in
June, the first big electric scooter sharing firm to do so, it
said on Thursday.
    VOI, which launched in 2018, was hit by lockdowns to contain
the COVID-19 pandemic, but now sees demand picking up as riders
are able to socially distance and avoid crowds.
    The company, whose competitors include Tier, Lime and Bird,
is also set to raise $30 million to fund expansion into new
markets including the United Kingdom, Chief Financial Officer
Mathias Hermansson told Reuters.
    He added that after the new funding round, the valuation of 
the company would be just below $270 million.
    "We can see now from week to week that revenues in more or
less all cities are growing," Hermansson told Reuters in an
interview.
    The new funding from new and existing investors, led by VNV
Global  VNV.ST , takes the Swedish company's total funding to
$165 million since 2018.
    VOI, which operates in 40 cities in 11 countries, is aiming
to make its first full-year profit in 2021, while Hermansson
expects losses to be "substantially lower" this year than the
770 million Swedish crowns ($85 million) reported in 2019.
    He added the company was planning for some growth in
revenues this year, after an almost fifty-fold increase to 317
million crowns in 2019.
    Hermansson said the company was looking at many new cities
for possible expansion, including New York.
    ($1 = 9.0563 Swedish crowns)

 (Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((helena.soderpalm@thomsonreuters.com; +46 8 700 10 15; Reuters
Messaging: helena.soderpalm.reuters.com@reuters.net))