Bolt turnover and loss grow on year

The Estonian-owned international group Bolt, which offers taxi, courier and vehicle short-term rental services, saw its losses increase in 2023. Despite revenues rising to €1.7 billion, the company's losses reached €91.9 million.
Bolt's annual report reveals that the company's revenue grew by 37.4 percent in 2023. Due to improved operational efficiency and expansion, the company's revenues increased from €1.2 billion to €1.7 billion, according to the report.
"The group improved its efficiency and profitability compared to the previous year, reducing operating losses to -5.5 percent despite challenges such as high inflation, high interest rates, currency fluctuations, an uncertain tax system and a generally uncertain macroeconomic outlook in many of our operating markets," said Bolt's founder and CEO Markus Villig.
The operating loss in 2023 was €94.3 million, compared to €262.6 million the previous year. However, the net loss increased to €91.9 million, up from €72.2 million.
"Bolt is one of the largest employers and taxpayers in Estonia. At the end of 2023, the company had over 4,000 employees, 1,200 of whom work in Estonia. According to the Tax and Customs Board, Bolt's tax footprint grew by 10 percent compared to 2022, and the company paid €38.4 million in national taxes," the company stated.
Ride services
In the field of ride-hailing services, revenue grew significantly in 2023 despite substantial challenges, including the deteriorating macroeconomic situation in Africa and tax system uncertainties in the United Kingdom, Bolt reported.
Although Bolt expanded into new countries over the year, the majority of the growth resulted from the development of its existing operational areas, where the company continued to increase its market share.
Food and groceries delivery service
The delivery field includes the food delivery service Bolt Food and the grocery delivery service Bolt Market. Both showed strong performance during the reporting year, the company noted.
"Bolt Food increased the number of active users per month thanks to several business and operational initiatives. Service fees were introduced, and more efficient pricing and discount strategies were implemented to increase basket size and shorten delivery times," the company stated.
Bolt Market continued to expand its operations throughout the year through partnership models, allowing partner grocery stores to sell their products on Bolt's platform and utilize the courier network for deliveries.
Rental service
The rental business covers micromobility (electric scooters and bicycles) and the Bolt Drive car service.
"Micromobility growth resulted from winning procurement bids in several major cities, introducing new hardware and improving pricing and safety measures. Additionally, monthly and weekly scooter passes were launched," Bolt reported.
The company introduced Bolt 6, its sixth-generation electric scooter model, which offers a longer lifespan and design enhancements that improve riding comfort and safety, location tracking and other technical features.
The free-floating car-sharing service Bolt Drive continued to expand its operations throughout the year, entering the Lithuanian and German markets, with its fleet exceeding 3,000 vehicles by the end of the year.
Bolt as a global platform
Bolt Technology OÜ, operating under the Bolt brand, is a global platform offering taxi, micromobility rental, short-term car rental and food and grocery delivery services. Founded in 2013 in Tallinn, the company operated in over 45 countries in 2023, primarily in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
As of December 31, 2023, the group comprised 56 companies, with Bolt Technology OÜ serving as the ultimate parent company. Bolt Technology OÜ is the legal owner of the technology and marketing-related intellectual property associated with Bolt's applications (intellectual property, Bolt trademark, trade name and brand marks). Most of the research and development related to this intellectual property takes place in Estonia under Bolt Technology OÜ, which is also primarily responsible for managing Bolt's R&D and developing Bolt's intellectual property strategy.
In 2023, the number of Bolt employees remained unchanged. Bolt employs 4,104 people: 3,368 office workers and 736 frontline workers.
Bolt Holdings OÜ acts as the holding company for most of the group's subsidiaries – except where local legal norms require a different ownership structure – and serves as the group's treasury manager and the lender to Bolt's subsidiaries for various intra-group loans.
Bolt Operations OÜ is the main business unit focused on client-facing operations and the primary marketer of Bolt's services in centralized markets.
Bolt Technology OÜ and Bolt Operations OÜ are the main operational units and headquarters of the Bolt group.
Bolt was founded in 2013 by Markus Villig, who is the company's CEO and major shareholder.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski