AgenciesZomato and Blinkit parent Eternal on Thursday reported a threefold jump in operating revenue to Rs 13,590 crore for the July-September quarter, driven largely by Blinkit’s shift to an inventory-led model. However, the company’s net profit fell 63% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 65 crore, as higher spending on Blinkit weighed on margins.
The revenue surge was primarily due to Blinkit now recognising the full value of goods sold on its platform, unlike earlier, when it operated as a marketplace.
Blinkit’s revenue rose ninefold YoY to Rs 9,891 crore for the September quarter. On a like-for-like basis — excluding the accounting changes — the quick commerce platform’s revenue grew 171%, while Eternal’s overall growth stood at 65%.
Despite rapid growth, Eternal’s profitability remains under pressure as Blinkit continues to invest in scaling its operations. The company plans to expand its dark store network to 3,000 by March 2027, from 1,816 as of September 30. It aims to hit 2,100 stores by December this year. While, so far, Blinkit’s expansion has been focussed on its top 10 cities, where it is increasing the density of its dark store-network, it is now expected to go aggressive on smaller cities as well, the company said.
ET had reported earlier that Blinkit leads the quick commerce space with over 50% market share, followed by the likes of Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, Flipkart Minutes, and Amazon Now.
Blinkit’s losses narrowed sequentially, though the decline was below internal projections, the company said. It attributed this to passing on efficiency gains to customers, accelerated store rollouts, higher marketing spends, and investments in warehousing and supply chain infrastructure.
“This does not change our long-term outlook on margins,” Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa said. “If we have to choose between high-quality sustainable growth and short-term margin sacrifice, we will choose the former given our strong balance sheet.”
Blinkit’s marketing expenses jumped nearly fourfold YoY, and 1.4 times sequentially, during the quarter.
Eternal’s share price saw a short-lived spike post the results announcement at 2.50 pm. The stock, however, ended trading 1.7% lower at Rs 348.40 on the BSE after being in the green most of the day.
Food delivery growth
Eternal’s food delivery unit Zomato posted a 14% YoY increase in net order value (NOV) to Rs 9,423 crore. The company has stopped disclosing its gross order value (GOV) metric from this quarter.
The growth fell short of Eternal’s medium-term estimate of 20%, as Zomato faced muted discretionary spending, competition from quick commerce players, and volatile weather conditions, chief executive Deepinder Goyal said.
Addressing competitors’ recent launches of budget-focussed food delivery apps, Goyal said Zomato would adopt a “wait and watch” approach. Over recent months, Rapido launched Ownly in Bengaluru and Swiggy rolled out Toing to target value-conscious consumers.
“Launching a separate app to target different customer segments adds significant organisational complexity,” Goyal said. “We’re okay being the last mover if it eventually proves to be the right long-term strategy.”
The revenue surge was primarily due to Blinkit now recognising the full value of goods sold on its platform, unlike earlier, when it operated as a marketplace.
Blinkit’s revenue rose ninefold YoY to Rs 9,891 crore for the September quarter. On a like-for-like basis — excluding the accounting changes — the quick commerce platform’s revenue grew 171%, while Eternal’s overall growth stood at 65%.
Despite rapid growth, Eternal’s profitability remains under pressure as Blinkit continues to invest in scaling its operations. The company plans to expand its dark store network to 3,000 by March 2027, from 1,816 as of September 30. It aims to hit 2,100 stores by December this year. While, so far, Blinkit’s expansion has been focussed on its top 10 cities, where it is increasing the density of its dark store-network, it is now expected to go aggressive on smaller cities as well, the company said.
ET had reported earlier that Blinkit leads the quick commerce space with over 50% market share, followed by the likes of Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, Flipkart Minutes, and Amazon Now.
Blinkit’s losses narrowed sequentially, though the decline was below internal projections, the company said. It attributed this to passing on efficiency gains to customers, accelerated store rollouts, higher marketing spends, and investments in warehousing and supply chain infrastructure.
“This does not change our long-term outlook on margins,” Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa said. “If we have to choose between high-quality sustainable growth and short-term margin sacrifice, we will choose the former given our strong balance sheet.”
Blinkit’s marketing expenses jumped nearly fourfold YoY, and 1.4 times sequentially, during the quarter.
Eternal’s share price saw a short-lived spike post the results announcement at 2.50 pm. The stock, however, ended trading 1.7% lower at Rs 348.40 on the BSE after being in the green most of the day.
Food delivery growth
Eternal’s food delivery unit Zomato posted a 14% YoY increase in net order value (NOV) to Rs 9,423 crore. The company has stopped disclosing its gross order value (GOV) metric from this quarter.
The growth fell short of Eternal’s medium-term estimate of 20%, as Zomato faced muted discretionary spending, competition from quick commerce players, and volatile weather conditions, chief executive Deepinder Goyal said.
Addressing competitors’ recent launches of budget-focussed food delivery apps, Goyal said Zomato would adopt a “wait and watch” approach. Over recent months, Rapido launched Ownly in Bengaluru and Swiggy rolled out Toing to target value-conscious consumers.
“Launching a separate app to target different customer segments adds significant organisational complexity,” Goyal said. “We’re okay being the last mover if it eventually proves to be the right long-term strategy.”
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