Shares in Just Eat (LON: JE) fell by 12 percent in early trading, making it the biggest faller in the FTSE 100.
After posting a pre-tax loss of £76 million for 2017, the group saw almost £600 million wiped off its stock market value.
The takeaway delivery platform took a hit from the back of a £180 million charge faced by the Australia and New Zealand operations.
Just Eat chief executive, Peter Plumb, has shared plans to increase spending in 2018 amind fierce competition. He remained confident in the group’s progress, saying the delivery company enjoyed a record year with over 21 million customers who ordered 172 million takeaways around the world.
The group is now expecting underlying earnings of between £165 million – £185 million for this next year. This is below the market expectation of £226 million.
A senior market analyst at ETX Capital, Neil Wilson, said investors did not seem to be confident in the group’s new strategy.
“There are doubts whether this will deliver for investors and there is a risk of becoming embroiled in a low-margin street fight with the likes of Amazon, Uber Eats and Deliveroo.
“There is a risk of management taking the eye off the ball by focusing on delivery instead of making the most of its status as the go-to platform and primary distribution channel for restaurants.”
Laith Khalaf, a senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Mr Plumb has a big job to do today, to convince the market that this investment will deliver returns strong enough to justify derailing Just Eat’s earnings growth in the near term.
“Expected returns on capital have yet to be spelled out, likewise the expected payback timeframe for the investment. If he can produce convincing answers to such questions, the market may well reward the group for its continuing underlying momentum.”
Just Eat recently came under criticism after the group introduced a new 50 pence service charge on its orders.