German incubator Rocket Internet may not be out of the red yet, but it has significantly reduced its deficit, courtesy in part of meal delivery service Delivery Hero’s IPO.
Positive momentum
Only last June, German incubator Rocket Internet saw its solvency take a hit after Swedish investment partner Kinnevik decided to pull out, but this has not stopped the group from steadily eliminating its losses. The company, which has HelloFresh, Westwing and Home24 under its wings, has managed to bring its deficit down to 44 million between January and September of this year. One year earlier, Rocket Internet’s debt was still 642 million euro.
It seems the German start-up investor is benefitting from a positive climate, which may be attributed in part to its meal delivery service Delivery Hero undertaking an initial public offering of shares. Most other important companies of the German group have continued to do well: Global Fashion Group, for example, managed to increase its turnover growth by more than 25% to 281,9 million euros, enabling the company to cut its losses by half.
In addition, HelloFresh’s turnover growth to 597 million euros (+95,8%) and the smaller EBITDA losses at Westwing and Home24 all provided Rocket Internet with higher margins. The company itself describes its positive momentum as a “significant step towards profitability”.
