The startup investor Rocket Internet recently found no companies in which he wanted to invest in a big way. The capital cushion was on 28 February at two billion euros, as Rocket announced on Thursday. This corresponds to the value of the end of October.
All in all, Rocket, whose startups like HelloFresh or Home24 are now mostly listed on the stock exchange, made a profit of 196 million euros last year, with a turnover of 44.5 billion euros. In 2017, a loss of six million euros was incurred.
Jumia and Hellofresh as growth drivers
The rocket companies Hellofresh, Westwing, Jumia, Home24 and Global Fashion Group all reported sales growth in 2018, the latter, however, only six percent. Jumia (63 percent more sales) and Hellofresh (41 percent more sales) grew the most. In the telephone conference on the new numbers, Rocket CEO Oliver Samwer emphasized Westwing in particular. The furniture online retailer, which went public last year, is the first Rocket company to have been profitable for a full year.
Rocket’s more than 200 unlisted holdings have a total value of € 1.2 billion
Rocket’s more than 200 unlisted holdings have a total value of € 1.2 billion, according to Samwer – however, Jumia and the Global Fashion Group alone make up a third of that. The younger investments include the Berlin companies Instafreight and Expertlead. How much money Rocket will invest in startups in 2019, Samwer did not say, “We can not predict that. It always depends on the state of the respective startup. “One is currently interested in startups from the areas of software, B2B, fintech and AI.
Also on the topic of new foundations Samwer kept covered. Rocket will start “more startups than 2018” – how many start-ups it will be and in which country, he commented.