優(yōu)步是如何在半年內(nèi)虧損12億美元的

Uber has upended the transportation industry in the span of a few years. But the ride-hailing company has been losing a lot of money while doing so.

優(yōu)步(Uber)在短短幾年內(nèi)顛覆了運(yùn)輸業(yè)。但這樣做的同時(shí)，這家召車公司一直在大把地虧錢。

Uber recorded losses of roughly $1.2 billion in the first half of 2016, according to a person briefed on the company’s financial data, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. More than half of those losses, or around $750 million, accrued in the second quarter of this year, said the person.

一位了解公司財(cái)務(wù)狀況的人士稱，2016年上半年，優(yōu)步錄得虧損約12億美元。這位要求匿名的人士說，超過一半的錢，即7.5億美元左右，是在今年第二季度虧掉的。

An Uber spokesman declined to comment. Bloomberg previously reported on Uber’s financial information.

優(yōu)步發(fā)言人拒絕置評(píng)。彭博社(Bloomberg)早前報(bào)道過優(yōu)步的財(cái)務(wù)信息。

The numbers underscore the difficulties that Uber and companies of its ilk face when trying to build and expand globally. As Uber has opened operations in numerous cities around the world, it has needed to spend to recruit drivers, to market its service and to take on regulators and established taxi companies. The company has also paid for driver and rider incentives in the form of subsidies.

這些數(shù)字突顯了優(yōu)步以及類似的公司竭力發(fā)展壯大并進(jìn)行全球性擴(kuò)張之際面臨的困難。在全球多個(gè)城市開展業(yè)務(wù)的同時(shí)，優(yōu)步需要投入資金招募司機(jī)，推廣自己的服務(wù)，應(yīng)付監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)以及傳統(tǒng)出租車公司。另外，公司一直在以提供補(bǔ)貼的方式激勵(lì)司機(jī)和乘客。

As a result, Uber has been on a fund-raising tear. The company, valued at more than $62 billion by investors, has been raising billions of dollars every few months. In June, the company garnered $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, one of the single largest investments ever in a private technology company.

因此，優(yōu)步一直在大舉融資。這家公司被投資者給出了超過620億美元的估值，每隔幾個(gè)月就要募集數(shù)以十億美元計(jì)的資金。今年6月，優(yōu)步從沙特阿拉伯的公共投資基金(Public Investment Fund)募得了35億美元，這是私營(yíng)科技企業(yè)迄今獲得的單筆最大投資。

Much of Uber’s heavy losses in the first half of the year were attributed to the company paying subsidies to attract riders and drivers, especially in China, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Uber spent the last two years fighting a war in China against Didi Chuxing, the incumbent ride-hailing giant in the country. Both companies spent billions of dollars subsidizing rides in the race to gain market share, said these people, a practice that could not be sustained in the long run.

兩名知情者稱，優(yōu)步今年上半年之所以嚴(yán)重虧損，很大一部分原因是為了吸引乘客和司機(jī)而發(fā)放補(bǔ)貼，尤其是在中國(guó)。過去兩年里，優(yōu)步在中國(guó)陷入了與本土召車巨頭滴滴出行的鏖戰(zhàn)。兩人稱，為了贏得市場(chǎng)份額，兩家公司都發(fā)放了數(shù)十億美元的出行補(bǔ)貼，從長(zhǎng)期來看這是一種不可持續(xù)的做法。

That spending came to an end earlier this month, when Uber agreed to sell its subsidiary company, Uber China, to Didi. Didi also agreed to invest $1 billion into Uber Global. The deal curtails Uber’s biggest cash drain over the coming quarter, according to the person briefed on the company’s finances.

本月早些時(shí)候，優(yōu)步同意將其子公司優(yōu)步中國(guó)(Uber China)出售給滴滴。至此，這方面的投入才算告一段落。了解優(yōu)步財(cái)務(wù)狀況的人士稱，這筆交易削減了公司下一季度最大的一筆現(xiàn)金消耗。

Still, Uber will continue spending elsewhere. The San Francisco-based company has stated publicly that it is willing to spend to fight competition in some of its most advanced markets, like the United States, where it is battling its rival Lyft.

不過，優(yōu)步會(huì)繼續(xù)四處撒錢。這家總部位于舊金山的公司公開表示，為了在某些最高端的市場(chǎng)跟競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手死磕，它是不吝于投入的——例如美國(guó)市場(chǎng)，它正在那里與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手Lyft抗衡。

There are some bright spots in Uber’s financials. The company posted significant revenue growth in the second quarter of this year, this person said, including a 31 percent jump to more than $5 billion in second-quarter bookings, a method of accounting that includes the money paid out to Uber drivers.

優(yōu)步的財(cái)務(wù)狀況也有一些亮點(diǎn)。該人士稱，今年第二季度，該公司的營(yíng)收大幅增長(zhǎng)，其中，二季度訂單收入增長(zhǎng)31%，超過了50億美元——這個(gè)核算方法是把付給優(yōu)步司機(jī)的錢也計(jì)算在內(nèi)的。

Net revenue, the amount Uber pulls in after paying out commissions to drivers, was roughly $960 million in the first quarter, before jumping to $1.1 billion in the second quarter, the person said.

該人士稱，刨除支付給司機(jī)的傭金，優(yōu)步第一季度的凈營(yíng)收約為9.6億美元，第二季度則躍升至11億美元。