After a difficult year of layoffs, cutbacks, mergers and acquisitions in the scooter market, it seems that the companies in the field managed to turn around and move towards profitability. Lime, the world’s largest scooter company, today (Tuesday) discloses part of its revenues in a controlled manner, even though it is not a public company obliged to do so.
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Apparently the move is intended to convince municipal authorities in Western Europe and Israel that it is not in existential danger, in preparation for fateful decisions. In Paris, for example, the question of whether to immediately ban the use of scooters is being examined.
According to the data, Lime’s revenue in 2022 reached $466 million gross, a 33% increase compared to 2021. The company also reports an EBITDA profit (operating profit before adjusted depreciation and amortization) of 15 million dollars. Blaim decided not to disclose the net profit, so it is estimated that the company is still loss-making.
Itai Rab’d, CEO of Lime Israel / Photo: Dror Sitkahal
According to her, Israel was a profitable market last year, with nearly 6 million rides, an increase of about 25% in their number compared to 2021. In addition, a total of 17.5 million Lime rides have been performed in Israel since the beginning of the activity. Half of the riders in Israel are daily users, and Tel Aviv is considered one of the company’s most active destinations. According to Tel Aviv Municipality data, Lime occupies the largest market share with 49% of all trips, followed by Bird with 24%, Yandex’s Wind with 14%, Dot with 8% and Tir with 5%.
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The competitor Bird reports its performance to the New York Stock Exchange, and as of the third quarter of 2022, profitability has not yet been recorded, although it has reduced its losses to only $9.7 million, compared to a quarterly loss of $320.3 million in the second quarter, which was a one-time high due to The recognition by the company of the error in the calculation of the revenues, or 42.1 million dollars in the corresponding quarter. Apparently, the efficiency moves, which include, among other things, leaving unprofitable cities – including in Germany, Norway and San Francisco – are expected to move the company to a profitable balance sheet. As well as Bird and Lime’s entry into the United Arab Emirates market ahead of the World Cup, as well as Australia.
The other companies, including Tier, Dot Wind, do not report their results, but they are experiencing a challenging period. Tier laid off close to 20% of its employees in the last few months after the acquisition of the American Spin, and left about 10 cities in the USA. Wind closed its global operations and remains active only in Israel, while its position in the global index is also in question with the redistribution of shares in the company Russian. All companies, including Lyme, suffered last year from thefts of thousands of two-wheeled vehicles to the territories of Judea and Samaria. Wind transported thousands of vehicles to Israel from abroad that were kept in a warehouse and then sold to several businessmen in the Palestinian Authority. Today, the companies report a decrease in the number of theft incidents, thanks to technological improvements made in the vehicles.