Talabat (TALABAT) CMD 2024 summary

Strategic direction and growth opportunities

• Focus on expanding market share in MENA through multi-vertical expansion, leveraging strong leadership in all eight operating countries and a multi-vertical approach spanning food, grocery, retail, and new verticals like health, beauty, and pharmacy.

• Significant headroom for growth with only 6 million monthly active users out of a 71 million addressable population, and underpenetrated markets in both GCC and non-GCC countries.

• Turbocharging loyalty and fintech products (Postpaid, Talabat Pro) to drive frequency, retention, and profitability, with further rollouts planned.

• Leveraging macro tailwinds such as rapid population growth, urbanisation, and a young, tech-savvy demographic in MENA.

• AdTech and retail media are key future profit drivers, aiming to quadruple penetration and margin contribution, with deepening supply partnerships to boost partner returns.

Financial guidance and performance

• Achieved $6.1 billion GMV in 2023, with 51% CAGR over eight years and 24% CAGR in the last two years.

• 2024 guidance: 22-23% GMV growth, 28-30% revenue growth, 6.5% Adjusted EBITDA margin, and 5% net income margin; medium-term outlook: 14-15% GMV and 15-17% revenue growth, up to 8% Adjusted EBITDA margin, and 90% net income payout ratio as dividends.

• Free cash flow margin at nearly 7% of GMV, with over 90% EBITDA-to-cash conversion and 64% increase in cash flow in H1 2024 versus H1 2023.

• Net income margin expected to improve to 5-6% of GMV, with strong free cash flow margin of 6-6.5%.

• Dividend policy introduced: minimum $100M in April 2025, $400M for FY25, and biannual payouts targeting 90% net income.

Business model and competitive advantages

• Largest on-demand delivery platform in MENA, 3-10x bigger than nearest competitors, with strong network effects and regional scale.

• Multi-vertical ecosystem increases customer stickiness and order frequency, with multi-vertical users placing 13 orders/month vs. 3.8 for food-only.

• AdTech and retail media provide high ROI for partners, with $200 million revenue in 2023, 3.2% of GMV, and a target to reach 7-8% of GMV.

• Asset-light model for dark stores and logistics, ensuring high efficiency, low CapEx, and limited FX risk due to dollar-pegged currencies.

• Strong focus on technology, personalization, and data-driven operations, with 440+ product and tech staff, two R&D centers, and 115k+ riders.