Airbnb says profitable for two straight years amid IPO talks

(Reuters) - Home-renting company Airbnb Inc said on Tuesday it was profitable on an adjusted basis for the second year in a row, ahead of a widely anticipated initial public offering this year.

Airbnb's expected listing in 2019 would be among a string of public debuts by highly valued Silicon Valley companies, including ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc, rival Lyft Inc and workplace messaging firm Slack.

Uber and Lyft remain unprofitable.

San Francisco, California-based Airbnb, valued by private investors at $31 billion, has in recent months turned to new services and offerings to fuel growth by adding luxury vacation homes and hotels to its platform.

Without revealing other numbers such as revenue and profit, the company said it was profitable before accounting for interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

Airbnb also said it expects over 500 million guest arrivals at its listings by the end of the first quarter of 2019, since it was founded in 2008.

(Reporting by Sonam Rai and Sayanti Chakraborty in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)