Delivery Hero says prepared for IPO as revenues grow

BERLIN (Reuters) - Online food takeaway firm Delivery Hero is ready to sell shares in an initial public offering when the time is right, the chief executive of one of Europe's biggest start-ups said on Tuesday.

Chief Executive Niklas Ostberg made the comments after Delivery Hero said first-quarter revenue rose 68 percent on a like-for-like basis to 121 million euros ($136 million).

"We can go at any point in time if we feel it is the right time," Ostberg told reporters, declining to comment further on timing or valuation.

Delivery Hero is seen as the start-up closest to going public in the portfolio of German e-commerce investor Rocket Internet, which reports first-quarter results on May 31. Rocket values the company at about 3 billion euros.

Rocket Internet shares, which have been under pressure over concerns about heavy losses at its start-ups, were up 3 percent at 0925 GMT, making them one of the top gainers on the German small-cap index.

The weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported on Sunday that Delivery Hero was considering a listing this summer and planned to raise more than 1 billion euros.

The Berlin-based company founded in 2011 delivers meals from more than 150,000 restaurants in over 40 countries and employs more than 5,000 staff.

The loss-making firm did not publish earnings figures but Ostberg said it was on track to improve profitability as it grows bigger.

"With size comes profitability and our focus is on building size and service levels," he said, adding that he did not rule out further acquisitions.

Earlier this month, Delivery Hero raised 387 million euros by issuing new shares to South African media and e-commerce firm Naspers, diluting Rocket's stake to 33 percent from just under 38 percent.

The biggest international players in online food takeaway - Delivery Hero, Just Eat and Takeaway.com - have been raising capital or swapping assets to bulk up as Uber and Amazon push into meal delivery.($1 = 0.8893 euros)

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; editing by David Clarke)