Swvl reports first profit since its public markets debut, revenue down 49 percent

Swvl has reported its first profit since its debut on NASDAQ in early 2022. The Dubai-headquartered mobility firm announced a net profit of $2.1 million for the first half of 2023, as opposed to a net loss of $161.6 million for the same period in 2022.

But, but: The company’s total revenue, as per its unaudited statements, has experienced a year-over-year decline of 49 percent for H1 2023, dropping from $21.67 million in H1 2022 to $11.11 million.

Quick recap: Swvl went public in March 2022 by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital, with a market cap of $1.5 billion. Despite the recent surge in the stock price, it has still lost over 99 percent of its value since its debut in the public markets.

Details: The company’s turnaround, if we may call it that, is apparently caused by its withdrawal from various loss-making markets to concentrate on Egypt (and Saudi Arabia), along with its renewed focus on its corporate offering, known as Transportation as a Service (TaaS).

  • The corporate offering contributed nearly 74 percent, or $8.2 million, of the total revenue of the company in H1 2023, marking a 2 percentage point increase from the same period in 2022.
  • In terms of the geographical breakdown of revenue, approximately 94 percent, or $10.4 million, of the it came from Egypt in H1 2023, marking an increase of 6 percentage points from the same period in 2022.

What are they saying: Mostafa Kandil, co-founder and CEO at Swvl, said, “I’m proud of the Swvl team and how we managed this transformation in only a few months, despite the macroeconomic downturn, achieving all the objectives set in our portfolio optimization strategy. I believe that Swvl is now creating significant value for its shareholders and is positioned for profitable growth and enhanced expansions in high revenue markets.”