“Asia is our largest segment, Asia is the most profitable segment,” Oestberg said in an interview on Tuesday. “But in terms of growth, it is holding us back a little bit.” 

With tighter Covid-19 controls than other regions, Delivery Hero’s exposure to Asia helped fuel growth during the pandemic, but the business there has stagnated after lockdowns eased. In September, Delivery Hero said it is in talks to sell the Foodpanda brand in several southeast Asian nations, including Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

Gross merchandise value in Asia declined 6.2% in the third quarter from a year earlier to €6.39 billion (US$6.8 billion), the company said in a statement on Tuesday. That compares to an average estimate of €6.34 billion among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Still, Oestberg said Delivery Hero is committed to the region. 

“Probably the largest growth potential is in some of the Asia markets,” he said. “It’s more of a temporary plateauing before hopefully kicking off again.” 

For the business as a whole, third-quarter gross merchandise value was €11.69 billion, according to the statement. That compares to an average estimate of €11.45 billion by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. 

The company said it now expects gross merchandise value to increase near the high end of its previously announced range of 5% to 7% in constant currency. 

Delivery Hero shares rose 3.2% to €27.75 at 10:02 a.m. in Frankfurt on Tuesday. They have fallen 38% since the start of the year.