Blue Apron posts bigger-than-expected loss in first qtr since debut

Reuters

(Adds details, shares)
    Aug 10 (Reuters) - Blue Apron Holdings Inc  on
Thursday reported a bigger-than-expected loss in its first
quarterly report as a public company, as the meal-kit delivery
service spent heavily on hiring and on building its delivery
infrastructure.
    The company reported a net loss of $31.6 million in the
second quarter ended June 30, compared with a net income of $5.5
million a year earlier.
    On a per-share basis, Blue Apron posted a loss of 47 cents,
bigger than the 30-cent loss analysts on average had expected,
according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
    Revenue climbed nearly 18 pct to $238.1 million, edging past
analysts' expectations of $235.8 million.
    But that 18 percent increase lagged the 42 percent growth in
revenue in the previous quarter, Blue Apron said, driven by a
planned reduction in spending on marketing.
    Blue Apron went public on the New York Stock Exchange in
late June, but its shares have since languished, falling nearly
40 percent amid concerns over e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc's
 recent moves in the grocery and meal-kit segments.
    Amazon's moves include its industry-altering deal to buy
upscale grocer Whole Foods Market Inc  and a trademark it
registered last month for a possible meal-kit service.
    Product, technology, general and administrative expenses
soared 86 percent year-over-year to $65.7 million in the second
quarter, reflecting increased hiring as well as the cost of
operating two distribution centers in New Jersey.
    Blue Apron said the number of active customers rose to
943,000 at the end of the quarter from 766,000 a year earlier.
    Shares of the company were marginally lower at $6.23 in
choppy premarket trading on Thursday.

 (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai
Sachin Ravikumar)
 ((Gayathree.Ganesan@thomsonreuters.com; +918067499317; Reuters
Messaging: gayathree.ganesan.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))

Keywords: BLUE APRON HLDG RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1)

Referenced Symbols:AMZN,

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