Business

WeWork posts a smaller loss as its office occupancy grows.

WeWork reported a smaller quarterly loss on Thursday as it continued its effort to turn a profit after the coronavirus pandemic upended its office-centric co-working business.

The company said revenue increased 37 percent in the second quarter, to $815 million, from the same period a year earlier, as workers continued to return to offices. WeWork’s net loss shrank 31 percent to $635 million in the quarter, which ended June 30, from the year-ago period.

“Simply put, it’s growing revenue and continuing to cut expenses,” said Alexander Goldfarb, a managing director and senior research analyst at the investment bank Piper Sandler.

The company said its occupancy rate rose to 72 percent during the quarter, and memberships grew 33 percent from a year earlier to 658,000.

“As we head into the second half of the year, we remain confident in our proven ability to execute against our goals of growing revenue, increasing occupancy and continuing to drive towards profitability,” Sandeep Mathrani, WeWork’s chief executive, said in a statement on Thursday.

WeWork can capitalize on a shift to hybrid work, which has become a challenge for companies that usually sign long-term leases on office space, said Vikram Malhotra, a senior equity research analyst at Mizuho Americas, because its offices are in central business districts, and it can serve large and small tenants.

WeWork leases flexible office space, from dedicated desks to entire floors, to tenants that range from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. In July, it introduced an app-based service intended to help companies manage their space needs and book its shared services like conference rooms.

“Not only does it help existing customers manage their WeWork footprint but their total footprint,” Mr. Malhotra said of the service.

The earnings statement released on Thursday was the second quarterly report for WeWork, which made its market debut in October through a merger with a publicly listed shell company known as a special purpose acquisition company.

WeWork shares rose more than 8 percent in premarket trading on Thursday.

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