BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Hellofresh, the mail-order cooking box company, continues to struggle with the loss of its customers. Between October and the end of December, the number of active customers fell by 6.5 percent to 6.6 million compared to the same period last year, the MDax company announced in Berlin on Friday. The decline thus increased somewhat after Hellofresh had already been able to encourage fewer customers to place orders in the previous quarter.

In the past, analysts had seen the number of active customers as a parameter for growth at Hellofresh. This includes all consumers who have ordered at least one free, discounted or full-price cooking box in the last three months. "We will no longer publish our active customers on a quarterly basis from the first quarter of 2024," said CFO Christian Gärtner last week. Instead, the manager pointed out that the number of orders, the average order value (AOV) and turnover are "significantly better" key figures.

Last week, Group CEO Dominik Richter and Gärtner announced preliminary figures, which were confirmed on Friday. They also withdrew their medium-term targets; the operating margin target previously set for 2025 is only likely to be achievable in the long term. As a result, Hellofresh shares lost almost half of their value. Analysts complained that the management's credibility had been damaged. Hellofresh wants to counteract this and report sales and adjusted operating profit (EBITDA) for its cooking boxes and ready meals in future./ngu/jha/