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Shares in the company, which completed its $7.3 billion purchase
of U.S. peer GrubHub in June, were down 4.4% to 62.11 euros at
0755 GMT, taking losses this year to more than 30%.
Total orders in the quarter rose 25% to 266 million, below the
35% increase expected by analysts at ING bank.
Growth in Britain, the company's largest market, was 51%, but
weakest in the United States, now its second-biggest market.
GrubHub Chief Executive Matt Maloney said last week he intended
to leave in December, and Just Eat Takeaway said on Wednesday it
had started "an improvement programme re-focusing the company on
GrubHub's strongholds".
Group CEO Jitse Groen said he would address the U.S. situation
more fully at a capital markets day Oct. 21. But he said that
the company is currently seeing a return to pre-pandemic
behaviour in its biggest markets, citing traffic data and
workers returning to offices.
He said that, in combination with darker days and worse weather,
should lead to a stronger fourth quarter.
"We presume there are not going to be more lockdowns, in which
case of course we would grow faster than what we currently have
in our budget" expectations, he told analysts on a call.
In August, GrubHub suffered a setback when New York City, its
largest U.S. market, capped the commissions it and rivals can
charge restaurants to use their platforms at 15% of food orders
for delivery.
Takeaway competes with Uber Eats, and Door Dash, in the United
States, and Deliveroo and Delivery Hero in Europe, among others.
The company on Wednesday repeated its full-year forecast for a
loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of
1%-1.5% on a gross transaction value of 28-30 billion euros
($32-$35 billion) for 2021, or a loss of 280-380 million euros.
In August, Takeaway reported an EBITDA loss of 190 million euros
for the first half, but said it expected that number to improve
in the second half.
Third-quarter gross transaction value, a common measure for
e-commerce companies, increased by 6.8 billion euros, or 21%,
bringing the nine-month total to 20.9 billion euros.
($1 = 0.8657 euros)
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Kim Coghill and Mark
Potter)
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