Nov 7 Reuters Ridehailing giant Uber on Tuesday predicted strong holidayquarter demand would drive up profits more than analysts expect, after accounting changes hampered growth between July and September.

The company39;s move to change how it recognizes some of its revenue affected growth at its ridehailing and fooddelivery businesses by eight percentage points and resulted in revenue missing thirdquarter expectations.

Uber is grappling with tough competition from Lyft, which has cut fares to gain customers as sticky inflation sparks worries about rideshare demand.

But CEO Dara Khosrowshahi struck an upbeat tone. Consumer demand on our platform remains healthy as we enter the busiest period of the year, he said.

This trend continued into the fourth quarter as we achieved alltime highs in October for overall trips and gross bookings, driven by strength across both mobility and delivery.

Uber expects fourthquarter adjusted core profit, a key profitability measure, between 1.18 billion and 1.24 billion, above estimates of 1.15 billion, LSEG data showed.

Gross bookings, or the total dollar value earned from its services, is expected in the range of 36.5 billion to 37.5 billion, compared with expectations of 36.31 billion.

With driver supply also remaining strong in the third quarter, at a record 6.5 million active drivers, the company appears wellpositioned to generate strong results, said analysts at William Blair.

Optimism over travel demand during the holiday…