Uber quarterly loss said to exceed $800 million after China exit

Even as Uber Technologies Inc. exited China, the company's financial loss has remained eye-popping. In the first nine months of this year, the ride-hailing company lost significantly more than $2.2 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. In the third quarter, Uber lost more than $800 million, not including its Chinese operation. At the same time, the company's revenue has continued to grow even after leaving the world's most populous country. Uber generated about $3.76 billion in net revenue in the first nine months of 2016 and is on track to exceed $5.5 billion this year, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Uber, a closely held company based in San Francisco, has stayed mum about its financial performance even as its valuation has soared to $69 billion, making it more valuable on paper than General Motors Co. and Twitter Inc. combined. Uber's bookings—the total combined value of the fares that riders pay—were $5.4 billion in the third quarter, an increase from $5 billion in the second quarter and $3.8 billion in the first, according to the person. The slowdown in Uber's bookings growth can at least partially be explained by the company's decision to leave China. Uber said on August 1 that it came to an agreement with Didi Chuxing to exit China in exchange for 17.5 per cent of the Chinese company. As part of the deal, Didi invested $1 billion in Uber. Uber's third-quarter financials don't include the business in China, which were part of the previous quarterly results. (Eric Newcomer/Bloomberg)