Uber could well go public in 2019, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told media outlets on Wednesday.
"We're in a good position in terms of the company's profile, in terms of profitability and margins continue to get better," Khosrowshahi said, adding that Uber has a "very strong balance sheet."
"I do think that we're on track in 2019 for an (Initial Public Offering)," he said. "Lots of things can happen in the world but we have a reasonable buffer as well, so I think we're in a pretty good spot."
The CEO specified later on Wednesday that he was looking at the second half of 2019 for an IPO. A person familiar with the matter had told media outlets that Uber is targeting to go public in late 2019 but the company has not started interviewing banks yet.
Last week, Uber said it had strong revenue growth and had reduced losses in the first quarter of this year. The company revealed that net revenue was up 67% on-year and losses narrowed 49%. Those numbers exclude a $3-billion first quarter gain from the sale of Uber's Southeast Asian business to rival company Grab and a business merger in Russia with Yandex.Taxi.
The CEO said that he is looking to build out his management team, rebuild the brand and improve the product before the company goes public. That includes hiring a chief financial officer, he said.
Khosrowshahi also spoke about legendary investor Warren Buffett, who earlier told reporters that he was an admirer of the Uber chief.
