Cabify has presented its annual results, corresponding to 2021, in the Mercantile Registry. Those that refer to its mobility platform in Spain –this leaves out the other businesses in which the group has interests, specifically Vector (owner of VTC cars and licences)–. Some data that is important because it shows the evolution of the company after the pandemic. With a 2020 that took most of the income ahead of the mobility platforms, all had their eyes set on 2021. That year depended on whether the path of recovery was taken or if, on the contrary, the mobility sector continued to weigh down the debt problems of the past.
Cabify had, in addition, another challenge. The Spanish unicorn closed 2019 reaching its first historical profitability. With a net profit of 3 million euros, this figure was a mirage in 2020. It was logical, and the company already warned: the closure of operations due to the coronavirus had taken them away from this path. The question was when they would reach her again. 2021 was not the year for it, although they do move away from the bad data of the past record.
In this way, Cabify achieves a net turnover of 156.5 million euros. Above the 119.7 of 2020, but still far from the 223 of 2019. The so-called his record year.
However, it is in the debt where the greatest interest of the results of the company. With a profitable 2019, it was the year of the pandemic that registered the most problems. From its positive numbers, it went to a fall of 43.3 million euros in debt. One that, according to the company, was due to an adjustment that Cabify had to solve with Vector under a credit issue between both companies. Now, the unicorn shows a debt of 0.3 million euros. Which is 99.2% less than last year.
In this way, and as they explain, Cabify is on the way to profitability. Still with less income than before the pandemic, but having solved the debt issue within the company. Also with a new investor of the height of Mutua Madrileña, a company that has been investing in mobility models for some time and has acquired 1.26% of the unicorn’s shares for a value that has not been made public. They only point to a slightly higher value than the previous round, specifically the one in 2018 that launched Cabify into the group of unicorns.
Cabify’s problem in Barcelona
Cabify has business in 10 cities in Spain: A Coruña, Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Santander, Seville, Valencia and Zaragoza. Of all of them, Barcelona is the one that worries the company the most. It is indeed, the one that has the most to lose of all the mobility companies with passengers operating in the region.
Uber and Bolt, which entered the city with their VTC model a little less than two months ago, have little travel. Cabify has been operating continuously since 2019. With an estimated investment of 150 million euros, the new Taxi Decree, or the so-called Son of the Taxi, directly affects the Spanish unicorn.
The new text, which will come into force next October, represents a new challenge for mobility companies. Which have already raised their complaint to Europe considering that the Barcelona text does not comply with the competition issues imposed by the Community Institution. With a more than secure legal path, at the moment the platforms are working to find a way to continue operating without any more data having emerged so far.