Uber, the ride-hailing and delivery company, has reported a $5.9 billion (£4.7 billion) loss, primarily due to its investments in other companies.

The firm stated that practically all of the loss was due to the decline in investments in businesses such as China's Didi and Southeast Asia's Grab.

Didi and Grab's stock prices have plummeted since their initial public offerings in New York last year.

Despite the setback, Uber's CEO highlighted the company's efforts in recovering from the pandemic's impact.

"Our results demonstrate just how much progress we've made navigating out of the pandemic and how the power of our platform is differentiating our business performance," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said.

The firm said that the number of trips taken increased 18 percent year over year in the three months to the end of March, resulting in a 136 percent increase in revenue.

Uber's first-quarter net loss increased to $5.9 billion from $108 million a year ago, owing to a $5.6 billion decline in holdings in other businesses, particularly Chinese ride-hailing operator Didi.

Uber had sufficient cash on hand to hold onto those loss-making stakes and sell them later, Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai said.

Its stock ended Wednesday's New York trading session 4.65 percent lower.

Uber sold its operations in China to Didi in 2016 in exchange for an 18 percent share in the Beijing-based corporation.

Didi's market capitalization in the United States has decreased by more than 80% since its $4.4 billion debuts on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) last summer.

Within days of the listing, China's internet regulator ordered online merchants to stop selling Didi's app, alleging that it improperly acquired user data.

In December, the company announced plans to delist its shares from the New York Stock Exchange and list them in Hong Kong.

Didi confirmed this week that it is under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission about its initial public offering.

Uber sold its operations in South East Asia to Grab in 2018 for a 27.5 percent share in the Singapore-based company.

Grab's shares sank dramatically during their December debut on New York's Nasdaq trading platform.

Its stock market valuation has fallen over 75% since its first public offering, the largest ever by a southeast Asian company in the United States.

Additionally, Uber owns a share in Indian food delivery company Zomato, which it acquired in 2020 in exchange for its Uber Eats operations in the country.

Since having a spectacular stock market debut in July, Zomato's shares have nearly halved in value.