Despite a seemingly never–ending stream of negative publicity, Uber Technologies Inc. continues to speed down the ride-hailing road in both revenue and number of riders.

For the second quarter ended June 30, Uber reported that the number of riders rose 17 percent over the first quarter and 150 percent over the second quarter of 2016 to deliver gross booking revenue of $8.7 billion. Net revenue, after costs such as paying drivers, came in at $1.75 billion in the second quarter, up from $1.5 billion in the first quarter and more than double the $800 million in net revenue it produced a year ago.

More notably for a company famed for bleeding money, Uber’s losses also declined, coming in at $645 million in the second quarter, 9 percent less than the $708 million figure in the first quarter and 35 percent less than the $991 million loss in the final quarter of 2016. The loss figures, allowing for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, came in at $534 million, down from $598 million in the quarter before.

Uber’s boost came thanks to an increasing user base and a broader array of services. Bookings across its range of products, which now include ride-hailng, limousine services, carpooling and, in some territories, food delivery, jumped 150 percent.

That included growth of 90 percent in developed markets and 250 percent in developing markets. According to Axios, the figures excluded revenue from Didi Chuxing Technology Co., in which Uber gained a stake in August 2016 after selling its China operations to the company.

Despite high losses, Uber reported cash reserves of $6.6 billion, down from $7.2 billion in the first quarter but still a large enough buffer for the company to continue operating losses for at least a few more years as it attempts to become profitable.

The financials follow a turbulent period for Uber that included the loss of co-founder and Chief Executive Travis Kalanick in late June following a shareholder revolt over allegations of systemic sexism in the company. The company launched a “reset” at the same time that aimed to reform the company’s culture over a period of 180 days. The first part of those changes, the introduction of driver tipping, already is proving to be successful.

Despite Uber’s growth, investors appear more pessimistic about the company’s prospects following its troubles and the resulting rise of competitors such as Lyft Inc. Four mutual-fund companies have marked down their investments in Uber by as much as 15 percent in recent months.

Photo: Dllu/Wikimedia Commons