Grubhub quarterly profit falls as costs swell

Grubhub Inc`s first-quarter net income tumbled 78 percent after it ramped up spending to attract and retain restaurant partners and delivery customers.

GrubHub, which is battling startups ranging from DoorDash and Uber Eats to Amazon.com Inc`s Amazon Restaurants, has swept up more than a half-dozen companies since its April 2014 initial public offering and has been spending aggressively to expand its delivery network.

Sales and marketing outlays were $78.5 million in the first quarter, almost 61 percent more than a year earlier.

Revenue jumped 39 percent to $323.8 million during the quarter, when total costs and expenses climbed 57 percent to $314.9 million.

First-quarter net income fell to $6.9 million, or 7 cents per share, from $30.8 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)