US car hailing giant Uber reported on Wednesday that its gross bookings rose 17 per cent to US$8.7 billion in the second quarter, as the company was still under the shadow of series of scandals earlier this year, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

According to Uber, its adjusted net loss fell almost nine per cent quarter-over-quarter to US$645 million and over 14 per cent year-over-year.

The number of trips taken by global users increased 150 per cent year-over-year, including 90-per cent growth in developed markets and over 250-per cent growth in developing markets, the start-up said.

The growth number excludes China, which Uber exited last summer in exchange for an equity stake in Didi Chuxing, a Chinese car-hailing service company.

The financial information of Uber came after the Silicon Valley unicorn being through a well-publicised internal investigation into sexual harassment and other unsavoury aspects of company culture, which led to the forced resignation of Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick in June.

Four US companies have recently trimmed the value of their investments in Uber, according to the Wall Street Journal.

-- BERNAMA