DoorDash projects upbeat Q3 core profit as online ordering stays resilient

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Consumer demand, engagement stronger than ever - CFO

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Posts Q2 revenue of $2.63 bln vs. est. of $2.54 bln

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Expects Q3 adjusted EBITDA between $470 mln and $540 mln

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Sees Q3 gross order value between $19.4 bln and $19.8 bln

By Granth Vanaik

Aug 1 (Reuters) - DoorDash forecast third-quarter core profit above expectations and surpassed revenue estimates for the June quarter on Thursday, as more customers used its online delivery platform to order food and grocery items.

The company has expanded beyond its restaurant delivery business in the U.S. into categories such as grocery and alcohol and has forged new partnerships with retailers to fend off rivals Uber Eats and Instacart.

DoorDash expects third-quarter adjusted earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) between $470 million and $540 million, compared to expectations of $453.2 million, according LSEG data.

Total orders jumped 19% to 635 million in the second-quarter from a year earlier. The company, which had disclosed an interest in a takeover of Britain's Deliveroo, said revenue soared 23% to $2.63 billion, compared with expectations of $2.54 billion.

"Consumer demand on the platform is stronger than it's ever been," CFO Ravi Inukonda told Reuters in an emailed statement.

The results come as investors worry over the firm's ability to grow as U.S. restaurant demand slows. Analysts have called such concerns "overblown".

"We have not seen any decline ... While some restaurants have said in-store traffic is slowing, digital is growing," Inukonda said.

DoorDash expects gross order value - a key industry metric that shows total value of all app orders and subscription fees - to be between $19.4 billion and $19.8 billion in the third-quarter, compared with $16.75 billion a year earlier.

Net loss attributable to stockholders came in at $157 million, or 38 cents per share, in the quarter, compared to $170 million, or 44 cents, a year earlier. DoorDash, which has seen higher labor expenses due to new minimum pay regulation in New York City and Seattle for delivery workers, said costs had gone down in the second quarter from the prior three months.

(Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)