Swedish micromobility startup Voi cut its losses by 34% last year — and says it’s on track to turn a profit soon amid a turbulent year for the sector.
The company’s latest annual report shows losses decreased from SEK 900.7m (€79m) in the 12 months to December 31 2022 to SEK 595.3m (€52m) in 2023. Net revenue increased by 18% from SEK1.2bn (€110m) in 2022 to SEK 1.4bn (€120m) in 2023.
Voi CFO and deputy CEO Mathias Hermansson also said the company is “now operationally cash flow positive” counting 12 months ending in May 2024.
“We have now reported over SEK 30m (€2.6m) of adjusted EBITDA, with our strong liquidity continuing to improve,” Hermansson said, adding that Voi has “laid the foundation to reach full-year EBIT profitability, possibly even in 2024”.
Consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) for the group improved to SEK -105m (€-9m) in 2023 from SEK -445m (€-39m) for the previous year.
Not all micromobility startups have been able to turn things around. Berlin-based e-scooter startup unu and US giant Bird filed for bankruptcy last year, while Voi competitors Dott and Tier merged after both struggling to reach profitability.
When the shine came off
Alongside its competitors, Voi has seen its valuation decline since 2021. It raised $25m in equity earlier this year at a post-money valuation of SEK 3.9bn (€340m), far below its unicorn valuation of 2021. The capital raised will be used to expand the company’s e-scooter and e-bike fleet. Voi is available in over 100 cities across 12 European countries.
While micromobility startups had almost unlimited access to cities in 2021 and 2022, in recent years locations have limited the number of scooters and operators allowed on their streets. Paris banned scooters last summer — forcing Tier, Dott and competitor Lime (which each had 5,000 vehicles in the city) to leave. In November last year, Berlin announced the number of scooters permitted in the city centre would be reduced in 2024.
At the same time, e-scooters have seen increased competition from e-bikes. Earlier this summer, Voi warned it could leave the streets of London if restrictions on e-scooters weren’t reduced to a similar level to e-bikes.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/voi-startup-scooter-loss-news/
