優步是如何在半年內虧損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.

優步(Uber)在短短几年內顛覆了運輸業。但這樣做的同時，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.

一位瞭解公司財務狀況的人士稱，2016年上半年，優步錄得虧損約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.

優步發言人拒絕置評。彭博社(Bloomberg)早前報道過優步的財務信息。

The numbers underscore the difficulties that Uber and companies of its ilk face when trying to build and expand globally.

這些數字突顯了優步以及類似的公司竭力發展壯大並進行全球性擴張之際面臨的困難。

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.

在全球多個城市開展業務的同時，優步需要投入資金招募司機，推廣自己的服務，應付監管機構以及傳統出租車公司。另外，公司一直在以提供補貼的方式激勵司機和乘客。

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，每隔幾個月就要募集數以十億美元計的資金。今年6月，優步從沙特阿拉伯的公共投資基金(Public Investment Fund)募得了35億美元，這是私營科技企業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.

兩名知情者稱，優步今年上半年之所以嚴重虧損，很大一部分原因是爲了吸引乘客和司機而發放補貼，尤其是在中國。

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.

過去兩年裏，優步在中國陷入了與本土召車巨頭滴滴出行的鏖戰。兩人稱，爲了贏得市場份額，兩家公司都發放了數十億美元的出行補貼，從長期來看這是一種不可持續的做法。

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.

本月早些時候，優步同意將其子公司優步中國(Uber China)出售給滴滴。至此，這方面的投入纔算告一段落。瞭解優步財務狀況的人士稱，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，優步會繼續四處撒錢。這家總部位於舊金山的公司公開表示，爲了在某些最高端的市場跟競爭對手死磕，它是不吝於投入的——例如美國市場，它正在那裏與競爭對手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.

優步的財務狀況也有一些亮點。該人士稱，今年第二季度，該公司的營收大幅增長，其中，二季度訂單收入增長31%，超過了50億美元——這個覈算方法是把付給優步司機的錢也計算在內的。

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，刨除支付給司機的佣金，優步第一季度的淨營收約爲9.6億美元，第二季度則躍升至11億美元。