Just Eat Takeaway.com has reported a “strong improvement” in profits as order and active customer numbers grew across multiple markets.

The takeaway platform recorded an 18% rise year on year in adjusted EBITDA to €256m (£219m), while its revenue rocketed 54% to €2.4bn (£2.1bn) in the 12 months to December 31, 2020, compared with €1.6bn (£1.4bn) in 2019.

Just Eat attributed this to a sharp uptick in orders, reporting three consecutive quarters of order growth acceleration in 2020.

In total, Just Eat processed 588 million orders across the 23 markets where it operates, a 42% increase compared with 2019. 

Active customer numbers also grew by 12 million to 60 million in the year, while the delivery platform now partners with 244,000 restaurants globally.

In the UK alone, the pandemic brought a 37% increase in the number of restaurants joining the platform, now standing at 50,000.

The UK is Just Eat’s largest market by orders and gross merchandise value with 179 million orders processed during the year – more than double the share of orders in the market compared with 2019.

Just Eat Takeaway.com chief executive Jitse Groen said: “It is safe to say that everybody on this planet will remember the year 2020. As the world shut down to contain Covid-19, Just Eat Takeaway.com became an ‘essential service’ – the only source of income for many of our restaurant partners and a crucial part of our consumers’ day-to-day lives. 

“I am proud of the support we have given to restaurant partners and health care workers during the pandemic and humbled by the continued commitment of our staff and couriers to keep our service running throughout the year.”