Uber Technologies said on Wednesday it will buy back up to $7 billion worth of company shares after a strong recovery in ride-share and healthy demand at its food delivery business.

The company's shares rose more than 5% to $72.50 in trading before the bell.

Over the next three years Uber expects gross bookings growth in the mid to high teens percentage.

The ride-hailing firm posted its first annual net profit last year since the company went public in 2019. Uber had a free cash flow of $3.4 billion in 2023, up from $390 million a year earlier.

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik and Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)