Rover’s business continues to bounce back in first earnings report as public company

Rover’s gross bookings value, or GBV, reflects the total value of services booked on its platform in a given time period. The measure reached an all-time high of $134 million in the second quarter, up 18% from the second quarter of 2019, before the pandemic. (Rover Graphic)

Issuing its first earnings report as a public company, Rover reported gross bookings of $134 million in the second quarter, the highest quarterly total in its history, reflecting increased usage of its online pet-care marketplace as travel starts to recover in some parts of the world.

That translated into quarterly revenue of $24.5 million, up 3% from $23.8 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2019.

Figures from two years ago provide a better benchmark than those from a year ago, Rover said. Its second quarter revenue plummeted to $5.4 million in the midst of the pandemic in the second quarter of 2020. The shutdown in global travel and rise of remote work significantly reduced demand for pet sitters and dog-walkers.

Rover’s quarterly net loss narrowed to $2.8 million, from a net loss of $12 million two years ago.

“We were encouraged by the strong new customer volume and ongoing travel recovery evidenced throughout the quarter and into July. At the same time, we are closely tracking the impact of COVID-19 and the Delta variant, as we have recently seen a slight increase in cancellations,” said Tracy Knox, the company’s chief financial officer, in Rover’s earnings release Monday afternoon.

Rover raised its guidance for the full year to a range of $102 million to $110 million in revenue, up from $100 million to $105 million previously. The company says it adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) “in the range of breakeven to low single digit millions,” compared to previous guidance of an EBITDA loss of $2 million to $7 million.

The results for the quarter were recorded as of June 30, before Rover became a public company last week through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. As a result, its cash balance of $103 million in the earnings report doesn’t reflect the additional $240 million raised in its stock market debut.

The company “drove growth in our core service offerings and reported a record number of new customers largely driven by organic channels,” said Rover CEO Aaron Easterly in the earnings report. With the cash infusion, he said, Rover feels “well positioned to pursue the opportunities ahead.”

Before the earnings report, shares of the company closed Monday at $11.96, up 8.7%. Rover finished its first day of trading on Aug. 2 at $11.67.

Shares of the company are not yet traded after-hours, and no analyst estimates were issued in advance of the second quarter results.

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