Lyft says May rides jump 26% from prior month

(Reuters) - Ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc said on Tuesday that rides on its platform rose 26% in May from the previous month helped by strong growth in cities where coronavirus-induced restrictions have been eased.

Lyft's shares rose 4.2% to $33.02 in extended trading after the company said rides had risen week-over-week for seven consecutive weeks since the week ended April 12.

"For the last three weekends, as restrictions on certain activities were eased in parts of the country, there was stronger relative sequential growth in weekend rides versus weekly rides on Lyft's rideshare platform," the company said.

However, the company said rides were down about 70% in May from a year ago.

Ridesharing companies have struggled with slow demand as millions of people around the world stayed at home due to government mandates imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Lyft expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) loss for the second quarter to not exceed $325 million if average daily volumes in June remain unchanged from May levels.

San Francisco, California-based Lyft had previously forecast second-quarter EBITDA loss to be below $360 million (287 million pounds).

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)