Investors Tell Just Eat To "Just Go Away"

(RTTNews) - Shares of Just Eat plunged on Tuesday after the online food order and delivery service app said it would invest 50 million pounds in its own delivery service network in order to compete with UberEats and Deliveroo in the UK.

The company shares fell over 13% after the news. The company posted a pre-tax loss of 76 million for 2017, hurt largely by a 180 million charge in Australia.

Unlike its competitors UberEats and Deliveroo, Just Eat acts as an intermediary link between customers and restaurants, and it does not handle deliveries. The platform allows customers to search for local take-out restaurants to place orders online, and to choose from pick-up or delivery options.

The company said it will use a significant part of the 50 million pounds towards expanding its own delivery services in the UK, Australia and Canada.

The investments are expected to impact the company's bottom line, with underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization expected to between 165 million and 185 million pounds, which is below analyst expectations. The company also expects revenues to be between 660 million and 700 million pounds in 2018.