In recent years, alternative taxi apps including Bolt and Uber have expanded their presence across Ireland, with FreeNow noting in its latest financial statement that a "significant number of start-ups" in the taxi hailing market, coupled with the "fragmented nature" of incumbents in the market would likely lead to increased future competition.

While up significantly on 2021, profits at FreeNow have yet to recover from pre-pandemic levels. In 2020, Free Now posted a pre-tax profit of €6.38m, with a surge in new competitors coinciding with subdued earnings. 

Freenow, formerly known as MyTaxi prior to its rebranding in 2019, was founded in 2009 and is one of the largest mobility apps in Europe. Headquartered in Hamburg, the app spans across 150m cities and claims to have more than 48 million users. 

In addition to competition risks, FreeNow has also noted potential supply issues, adding that it relies on drivers to be available to fulfil demand, which may cause issues if driver acceptance rates drop significantly. 

The company has started trials with an electric scooter provider in Dublin and has continued to invest in electric vehicles, with FreeNow adding these moves would "ensure a future-proof business model" going forward. 

The taxi app reported a cash balance of more than €20.8m, up significantly from just over €14m in 2021, with net current assets also up by more than €4m to €14.9m following efforts to restrucuture its costs. 

The directors said they expect the company to stay in a profit position while still investing into the current business models to increase their activity in Ireland.

At the end of December 2022, the firm’s shareholder funds stood at €15.8m which included accumulated profits of €4.31m, up from €2.09m a year earlier.