Deliveroo has recorded a profit of £2.9m in the year to 31 December, in what one analyst described as a "hard slog".

It comes after the takeaway delivery firm hit a loss of £31.8m in 2023.

In its full-year results, Deliveroo’s EBITDA jumped by 52% to £130m, while its revenue increased by 2% to just over £2bn.

Furthermore, its gross transaction value (GTV) reached £7.43bn, which is a year-on-year increase of 5%.

The results follow Deliveroo deciding to sell its Hong Kong operations after determining that it would "not serve shareholders’ best interests" to continue operating in the region.

Founder and chief executive officer at Deliveroo, Will Shu, said: "Over the past year, we have been relentlessly focused on making the Deliveroo experience even better. The robust results we've announced today, with our first full year profit and positive free cash flow as well as GTV growth across our verticals, demonstrate that our strategy is working.

"We continued to deliver value to consumers by incentivising partners to reduce mark-ups and by significantly enhancing our loyalty programme. Our dedication to making every order perfect is having a meaningful impact on consumer satisfaction, as reflected in our net promoter score.

"Whilst the consumer environment remains uncertain, I am confident that we can continue to deliver growth by focusing on the levers in our control: supporting our restaurant partners to meet untapped consumer demand around new occasions, expanding our grocery and retail offering, and continuously improving our CVP."

In the firm’s outlook, it said that it is anticipating "high single-digit" percentage GTV growth, with its EBITDA set to be in the £170m-190m range, as its makes "targeted investments to capture future growth opportunities".

In the medium term, it is targeting “mid-teens percentage growth” per annum, with also reaching for 4% plus growth in its EBITDA margin.

Head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, Susannah Streeter, concluded: "It’s been a long hard slog but Deliveroo has finally climbed the tough summit of reaching annual profitability. But it’s not going to be freewheeling from here and the uncertain economic environment points to a wobbly ride ahead. Deliveroo is selling its operations in Hong Kong, given the tough competition to focus on more profitable markets like the UK and Ireland. But that leaves the company that bit more exposed to this part of Europe’s economic climate.

"Deliveroo faces a more powerful competitor in Just Eat Takeaway now that it’s been being gobbled up by Prosus to fulfil its ambitions to become a mega global platform in the consumer delivery and fin tech space. Prosus wants to get fingers in more pies where Uber has already found a sweet spot, eyeing up opportunity rights across the consumer-focused space. While consumers have become accustomed to easy delivery at the click of an app, Deliveroo is going to have to pedal hard to get its hands on the yellow jersey."

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