Deliveroo orders surged to the top due to the UK’s Plan B Lockdown restrictions.
Shares of the food delivery business rose 1.4% or 2.4p to 172p following a 22% rise in orders for 80.8m during the fourth quarter 2021. The value of the transactions also jumped 36 per cent year-on-year to £1.7billion.
For the year as a whole, orders surged 73 per cent to 300.6m, while their value climbed 70 per cent to £6.6billion.
Deliveroo’s shares rose 1.4%, or 2.4p, to 172p after it flagged a 42% rise in orders to 80.8m in the fourth quarter of 2021
Because of the closing of restaurants and bars, food delivery was a popular option.
Deliveroo managed to increase its UK market share during the fourth quarter, as it faced off against Uber Eats (up 3.4%, or 132.5p at 4052p).
But the average value of each order fell 5 per cent to £21.40 in the final three months of the year, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels.
As a result of the order surge, Deliveroo hit the very top of its guidance for 2021, which had predicted an increase in transaction values of between 60 per cent and 70 per cent.
Emis Stock Watch
Emis, A provider of software to aid hospitals and GP practices, the company saw its 2021 performance slightly better than expected.
Pinnacle Software, which aids doctors in monitoring patient data and referrals, is supported by the NHS Covid-19 program.
As a result, the firm’s results are expected to be higher than the £164.8million in revenues and £41.1million profit predicted by analysts. EMIS shares increased 5.23 percent, or 66p to 1330p.
Additionally, growth was also seen in the company’s newer On-Demand Groceries arm. This allows customers to order grocery items online and have them delivered directly through their mobile app.
Grocery orders made up 8 per cent of the firm’s total transactions in the second half of 2021, up from 6 per cent in the same period a year ago.
IG Group’s Chief Market Analyst Chris Beauchamp said that despite the strong numbers, many would wonder if the rate of growth would continue once the restrictions on pandemics are lifted.
He said that consumers may not be as keen to place too many orders via the app due to the UK’s ‘growing squeeze on living costs’.
The FTSE 100 dropped 0.06 percentage points or 4.65 point to 7585.01 and the FTSE 250 fell by 0.3% or 59.96 to 22714.98. London traders weren’t alarmed at Wednesday’s Wall Street losses that saw the Nasdaq Index slip back into corrective territory following a slump of 1.15 percent.
The UK’s Plan B lockdown restrictions were phased out, which helped to lift the mid-cap index. This index is heavily dominated by British-focused firms.
China-exposed companies saw an increase in their exposure after China’s central banking cut the mortgage rate to support its property sector.
BHP’s shares rose by 1.2 percentage points, or 29p., to 2502.5p. Burberry on the other hand, which depends heavily upon Chinese buyers for revenue, rose by 2.4 percent (or 44p) to 1910.5p.
Prudential was also up 2.6%, or 33.5p at 1320p.
As crude oil prices declined from the seven-year-highs set earlier this week, oil stocks were a drag on the blue chip index. Shell fell by 32.2p (or Shell) to 1839.2p. BP was at 389.5p.
Telecoms giant BT was also on the slide, dipping 0.2 per cent, or 0.4p to 189.5p after unveiling plans to hike prices by 9.3 per cent from the end of March as inflation pushes up costs.
On average, it means the firm’s BT, EE and Plusnet customers will see their bills rise by £42 per year or £3.50 per month.
Nick Lane from BT, the managing director for customer service at consumer, posted yesterday that while price rises were never popular in business, they are often necessary to maintain a constant pace with rising costs.
Customers’ data usage had ‘increased dramatically’ with a 90pc increase on broadband usage since 2018, and a 79 per cent increase on mobile phones since 2019.
He explained that working remotely, as well as streaming video and online education has increased demand on BT’s network.