FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The prospect of a more profitable business in South Korea stabilized Delivery Hero's share price on Wednesday. After falling to a five-month low of 17.35 euros on Monday following concerns about a possibly higher-than-expected EU antitrust fine, the food delivery company's share price rose by almost 10 percent to just over 21 euros at lunchtime. The losses since the beginning of the week have thus almost been recouped. The annual loss was contained to just over 16 percent.

Initiatives by Woowa Brothers, the operator of Delivery Hero's Korean branches, were responsible for the share price recovery. The company intends to revise the user interface of its Baemin app and also announced a new pricing structure. Analysts welcomed the plans.

Raising trading fees would significantly increase the profitability of Baemin (Baedal Minjok), wrote UBS analyst Jo Barnet-Lamb in an initial reaction. He pointed out that the app's percentage fee is currently lower than that of competitors such as CPNG and Yogiyo.

Analyst Marcus Diebel from US bank JPMorgan also explained that, in addition to increasing commission rates, discounts would also be granted for pick-up orders and calculated the overall positive impact of the innovations. He expects an inflow of at least around 200 million euros for the annualized operating result (EBITDA) from 2025 onwards. In addition, the revision of the app will bring transparency benefits and - with regard to the participating restaurants - greater choice for end customers. In view of the competition, however, the JPMorgan expert does not rule out the possibility that some of the profits could be reinvested.

The innovations are reassuring, commented Bernstein expert Annick Maas, referring to the competitive pressure in South Korea that has weighed on the shares in recent months. She now expects Woowa Brothers' market shares in Korea to continue to stabilize./ck/bek/mis