Authors: Paolo Laudani and Bernadette Hogg

(Reuters) – Delivery Hero said on Thursday it expects annual gross merchandise value (GMV) growth to be at the high end of its forecast range, after the German online food takeaway company reported solid growth in the third quarter.

Shares in the company, which owns delivery apps Glovo and Foodpanda, opened 1% higher before trimming some gains to be 0.6% higher at 08:59 GMT.

The group now expects full-year GMV growth – a common metric for delivery companies that measures the total value of all goods sold – to be at the high end of its forecast of 7-9%, following a 9% year-on-year escalate in year-on-year growth in the third quarter.

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, it recorded a 30% escalate in GMV. According to analysts at the Stifel brokerage house, this should bode well for the planned listing on the Dubai Stock Exchange of the lucrative subsidiary of Talabat from the United Arab Emirates in the fourth quarter.

Delivery Hero reported GMV of 12.2 billion euros ($13.12 billion) for the quarter, in line with analyst expectations in the company’s consensus.

Outside Asia, its main market, GMV grew by 25%.

In Asia, where it expanded its presence with the 2021 acquisition of South Korea’s largest online food delivery platform Woowa, it saw its GMV decline by 6.6%.

“If opportunities arise along the way, we’re happy to look at them and happy to consider them, but that’s not our focus,” Chief Executive Niklas Östberg said in a telephone interview with Reuters when asked whether the revised guidance could lead to more acquisitions.

The company plans to create better in-app ads for its Glovo brand, available in more than 20 countries such as Spain and Italy, to aid restaurants boost sales, Östberg added.

However, the company said it expects adjusted core earnings to be at the lower end of its guidance of €725 million to €775 million.

($1 = 0.9302 euros)