Retail

Ramadan sales support Talabat’s top-line growth

By Pramod Kumar

May 12, 2025, 11:11 AM

Talabat was listed on the DFM in December 2024, raising $2 billion

Talabat, the Dubai-listed online food ordering and delivery company, said its top line rose more than a quarter in the first three months of this year, supported by growth in the grocery and retail segments during the holy month of Ramadan.

Net profit nearly tripled to $103 million in January to March period from $24 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Monday.

The company, however, clarified that net income in the last year was impacted by a forex loss on an inter-company loan to the Egyptian subsidiary following the pound’s devaluation against the US dollar in March 2024.

Talabat was listed on the DFM in December 2024, raising $2 billion in an initial public offering (IPO), which increased from 15 percent to 20 percent following strong investor demand.

Revenue grew 34 percent to $846 million due to margin expansion across both GCC markets (the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) and non-GCC markets (Egypt, Jordan and Iraq).

The results reflected prior-year impacts related to ongoing regional geopolitical unrest, which continued to weigh on performance during the period, the statement said.

Gross merchandise value (GMV) – the total value paid by customers, including VAT, delivery fees, other fees and subsidies – reached $2.1 billion, up 30 percent year on year. It was driven by double-digit growth in the core GCC segment and food vertical.

In March, Talabat acquired the grocery delivery app Instashop from its German parent company, Delivery Hero, for $32 million.

Delivery Hero purchased Instashop in 2020, in a deal worth $360 million on a cash and debt-free basis.

The UAE’s online grocery delivery market is estimated to be growing at an annual rate of 29 percent. It will be worth $6.87 billion by 2032, according to a report by SPER Market Research.