British food delivery company Deliveroo The company reported a small profit for the first half of the year, breaking even for the first time following an increase in consumer demand.

The company, backed by e-commerce giant Amazon, said in its half-year earnings report on Thursday that it made a net profit of 1.3 million pounds ($1.65 million) in the six months to June, compared with a loss of 82.9 million pounds in the same period last year.

The company’s earnings were the result of a “positive turnaround” in consumer demand, “with frequency returning and customer loyalty increasing, supported by improvements in our consumer value proposition (CVP).”

Deliveroo’s gross transaction value rose 6% on a like-for-like basis to reach £3.7 billion in the first half of the year. Revenue rose 2% to £1,028.2 as the company reported a 2% increase in orders processed through its platform to 147.4 million in the same period.

Deliveroo shares rose 8% to £1.37 by 11:40am London time following the release of the company’s earnings report. Deliveroo shares remain well below their IPO price of £3.90. In 2021, the company’s shares plunged as much as 30% on the day of its IPO.

“Looking ahead, despite ongoing uncertainty in the external environment, I am encouraged by the turnaround we are currently seeing in consumer behavior across most of our markets,” Deliveroo’s CEO and co-founder said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Deliveroo platform is more powerful than ever and we continue to respond to the external environment while further optimising our offering for consumers, riders and merchants.”

Deliveroo also reported positive free cash flow of £3.2 million in the first six months of the year, compared to negative free cash flow of £27.7 million in the same period in 2023.

There have been previous doubts about Deliveroo’s ability to make a profit in food delivery – a historically high-cost, low-margin business that requires significant scale to remain competitive.

There has been increased consolidation in this area in recent years – in May, Uber acquired Delivery Hero’s online takeout brand Foodpanda in Taiwan for $950 million to expand its Uber Eats platform.

The company expects its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the full year 2024 to be in the upper half of its previously forecast range of £110-130 million.

The target of a gross transaction value growth rate of 5 to 9 percent by 2024 and the forecast for positive annual free cash flow were maintained unchanged.

Deliveroo also announced a £150 million share buyback on Thursday, saying it would seek to buy back some of its issued shares on the market to remove them from circulation and return cash to the company’s investors.