06:26 AM EDT, 05/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Grab (GRAB) late Wednesday lifted its core profit outlook for the full year, as the Southeast Asian ride-hailing and delivery platform's cost-cutting measures helped it post a narrower first-quarter loss on a yearly basis.

The company now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be in a range of $250 million to $270 million, up from its prior forecast of $180 million to $200 million. The consensus on Capital IQ is for $226.9 million. In the March quarter, Grab swung to adjusted EBITDA of $62 million from a negative $67 million in the prior-year period.

The revised outlook is mainly driven by "stronger-than-expected mobility demand," additional "optimization in net cost of funds and expected credit losses" and "greater discipline on operating expenses," Chief Financial Officer Peter Oey said during a conference call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. "On overhead costs, we will continue to exercise stringent discipline as we drive greater operating leverage in the business," according to Oey.

Grab continues to anticipate revenue to come in between $2.7 billion and $2.75 billion for the current year, representing annual growth of 14% to 17%. The Street is looking for $2.77 billion. The company's US-listed stock gained 3.1% in Thursday premarket activity.

For the first quarter, the firm recorded a net loss of $0.03 a share, compared with a loss of $0.06 the year before. Analysts had estimated a per-share loss of $0.01. Revenue climbed 24% to $653 million, topping the Street's view for $632.7 million.

Deliveries revenue grew 19% to $350 million boosted by robust gross merchandise value growth from the company's food deliveries business. Mobility revenue advanced 27% to $247 million, with growth across all core markets driven by continuous domestic and international tourist demand. Revenue from financial services jumped 53%.

"Our focus on product-led growth is bearing fruit, with on-demand GMV scaling to new highs in spite of the seasonal impact we usually see in the first quarter of the year," Chief Executive Anthony Tan said in a statement. "Our push on affordability and reliability is pulling more people onto our platform and driving up order frequency."

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