SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 26 (UPI) — Ride-hailing company Uber has lost more than a billion dollars this year, the company’s head of finance told investors earlier this week.
Gautam Gupta said in a conference call to investors that even despite making a profit in the United States in the first quarter, it went back in the hole for the second. Overall, the company did far worse.
Uber lost about $520 million before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the first quarter of 2016, sources close to the company told Bloomberg. The second quarter was even tougher with more than $750 million in loses — $100 million in the United State alone — adding to a total loss of $1.27 billion.
Uber could be on a pace to top the $2 billion they reportedly lost in 2015, with a total of approximately $4 billion in losses over the company’s seven years in business.
Gupta reportedly blamed the losses mostly on drivers’ subsidies.
But things were not all bad, with a few weeks before the company debuts self-driving taxi service in Pittsburgh, the company is enjoying growth, with bookings up $3.8 billion in the first quarter and $5 million in the second. Revenue also grew $960 million in the first quarter and continued to $1.1 billion in second quarter.
Uber would not comment on reports of the losses.
