Uber names semiconductor executive Mahendra-Rajah as CFO

Uber Technologies on Wednesday named Analog Devices CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah as its finance chief at a time when the ride-hailing company is gearing up for growing competition in the industry.

Uber's shares were up more than 2 per cent at $45.31 in extended trading.

Mahendra-Rajah will join San Francisco-based Uber on November. 13 and replaces Nelson Chai, who announced his plan to step down from the role in August after about five years with the company.

At semiconductor firm Analog Devices, Mahendra-Rajah oversaw the roughly $21-billion acquisition of rival Maxim Integrated Products.

Mahendra-Rajah was previously the CFO at vehicle technologies supplier WABCO Holdings and has held other financial leadership roles at Applied Materials, Visa and United Technologies.

While Uber reported its first-ever quarterly operating profit last month and is seeing its cash flow ramp up, smaller rival Lyft has increased competition in the ride-sharing space by lowering ride fares.

Uber is also grappling with a slower pace of revenue growth. The company saw its second-quarter revenue increase at a smaller-than-expected 14 per cent, compared with a near 29 per cent jump in the first quarter.

Still, with more than $1 billion in free cash flow in the second quarter, Uber said it was increasingly considering share repurchases and shareholder dividends.

Uber on Tuesday struck a partnership with Los Angeles Yellow Cab and its affiliates to boost the supply of taxis on its platform, following similar moves in other markets like Europe and Asia over the past two years.