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Informist, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026

 

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--Eternal Oct-Dec consol net profit INR 1.02 bln
--Analysts saw Eternal Oct-Dec consol net profit at INR 780.89 mln
--Eternal Oct-Dec consol revenue INR 163.15 bln
--Analysts saw Eternal Oct-Dec consol revenue at INR 162.27 bln
--Eternal Oct-Dec consol net profit INR 1.02 bln vs INR 590 mln year ago
--Eternal Oct-Dec consol revenue INR 163.15 bln vs INR 54.05 bln year ago
--Deepinder Goyal resigns as Eternal MD, CEO from Feb 1, 2026
--Eternal Board recommends Deepinder Goyal as vice chariman, director of co
--Eternal appoints Blinkit CEO Albinder Singh Dhindsa Eternal CEO from Feb 1
--Eternal's Goyal: All of my unvested ESOPs will revert to ESOP pool
--Eternal Apr-Dec consol net profit INR 1.92 bln vs INR 4.88 bln year ago
--Eternal Apr-Dec consol revenue INR 370.72 bln vs INR 144.10 bln year ago
--Eternal's Goyal: Drawn to new ideas involving higher-risk, experimentation
--Eternal Oct-Dec delivery expenses INR 23.76 bln vs INR 14.50 bln year ago
--Eternal Q3 consol stock-in-trade spend INR 100.76 bln vs INR 15.10 bln
--Eternal Oct-Dec consol employee cost INR 9.14 bln vs INR 6.89 bln yr ago
--Eternal Oct-Dec consol depreciation INR 4.39 bln vs INR 2.47 bln yr ago
--Eternal's Goyal: Need space to explore ideas outside Eternal's risk profile
--Eternal Oct-Dec consol adjusted EBITDA INR 3.64 bln vs INR 2.85 bln yr ago
--Eternal Oct-Dec food delivery adjusted revenue INR 30.53 bln, up 26.5% YoY
--Eternal Q3 quick commerce adjusted revenue INR 122.56 bln, up 776% YoY
--Eternal Oct-Dec hyperpure adjusted revenue INR 10.70 bln, down 36% on year
--Eternal Q3 quick commerce adjusted EBITDA INR 40 mln
--Eternal Q3 quick commerce net order value INR 133 bln, up 121% on year
--Eternal Oct-Dec food delivery net order value INR 98.46 bln, up 16.6% YoY
--Eternal consol cash balance INR 178.20 bln Dec 31 vs INR 183.14 bln qtr ago
--Eternal quick commerce stores 2,027 on Dec 31 vs 1,816 qtr ago
--Eternal quick commerce net avg order value INR 547 vs INR 546 year ago
--Eternal: Quick commerce adjusted EBITDA positive for the 1st time in a qtr
--Eternal: Shift to own inventory for quick commerce remains margin accretive
--Eternal: Store additions below guidance on slower construction in Delhi NCR
--Eternal: Quick commerce stores not opened in Q3, will be opened in Q4
--Eternal: Remain on track for 3,000 quick commerce stores by March 2027
--Eternal: profitability for quick commerce ops not guaranteed
--Eternal: Margin in Gurgaon, Noida are likely to rise further
--Eternal:Aim for 3,500-4,000 Blinkit stores by Mar 2027 if competition eases
--Eternal: Don't expect food delivery demand to rise sharply YoY in 12 mos
--Eternal: Expect food delivery net order value growth to improve to 20% YoY
--Eternal:Don't expect change in margin guidance due to social security code
 

 

By Anand JC and Shakshi Jain

 

NEW DELHI – Eternal Ltd., formerly known as Zomato, topped top-line and bottom-line expectations for the December quarter despite a marked increase in expenses. Founder of Eternal, Deepinder Goyal will step down as the company's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer effective Feb. 1. Albinder Singh Dhindsa, who currently leads their quick commerce platform Blinkit, will replace Goyal, who will be appointed as the vice-chairman of Eternal. 

 

Its consolidated net profit for the reporting quarter was INR 1.02 billion, up 73% from INR 590 million in the year-ago quarter. Analysts had pegged the consumer-tech firm's bottom line at INR 780.89 million. 

 

Eternal's consolidated top line for the December quarter tripled year-on-year to INR 163.15 billion. It was expected to report net sales of INR 162.27 billion. It is to be noted that Eternal's top line is not comparable year-on-year because the company switched to a first party inventory model starting September quarter, different from the third-party model followed before. 

 

Eternal previously operated as a marketplace, with sellers owning the inventory and Eternal earning commissions and fees. Under the new first-party model, Blinkit owns the inventory and sells directly to customers, giving Eternal greater control over pricing and discounts. In this structure, Eternal recognises the full value of goods sold as revenue.

 

Eternal operates four major businesses--food delivery through the Zomato application, quick commerce through Blinkit, event discovery and ticketing through the District application, and business-to-business restaurant supplies through Hyperpure.

 

SEGMENTAL PERFORMANCE

Blinkit's adjusted revenue for the December quarter was INR 122.56 billion, up from INR 13.99 billion in the year-ago quarter and INR 98.91 billion in the September quarter. Its food delivery business earned an adjusted revenue of INR 30.53 billion, up 27% on year and 7% on quarter. While revenue of its going out business grew 16% on year to INR 3 billion, revenue of Hyperpure fell 36% on year to INR 10.70 billion.

 

Its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation for the reporting quarter grew by INR 790 million on year to INR 3.64 billion. Blinkit turned EBITDA positive for the first time on a quarterly basis, reporting an adjusted EBITDA of INR 40 million. Food delivery business' adjusted EBITDA improved by INR 1.08 billion on year to INR 5.31 billion while that of Hyperpure grew by INR 200 million on year to INR 60 million.

 

BUSINESS UPDATE
The net order value of its quick commerce platform was up 121% on year to INR 133 billion in the December quarter despite cut in goods and services tax, Eternal said. The platform net added 211 stores in the quarter, taking the overall store count to 2,027 as of Dec. 31. This was 70 stores lower than the company's guidance of having 2,100 stores as of the end of 2025. 

 

The store count lagged guidance because of extended pollution-related restrictions in Delhi-NCR which slowed construction and store fit-outs, Eternal said. Additionally, the company could not add more stores as planned during Diwali because of operational constraints. "This is a timing issue. The stores we didn't open in Q3 will open in Q4. We remain on track for 3,000 stores by March 2027," the company said. It added that if competition moderates in near term, Eternal would aim for 3,500-4,000 stores by March 2027.

 

Eternal's net order value grew 16.6% on year, an improvement over the 13.8% on year growth registered in the September quarter. On a quarterly basis, the company's net order value grew 4.5%. 

 

The adjusted EBITDA margin of the company's food delivery business for the December quarter hit an all-time high of 5.4%. On the adjusted EBITDA breakeven in the quick commerce category, Blinkit chief Dhindsa said, "Margin improvement came from several factors: supply chain cost efficiencies, a favorable shift towards long tail categories and operating leverage. This is the natural progression of a strong and maturing quick commerce business." Eternal's Chief Financial Officer Akshant Goyal said the own-inventory model also continues to be margin accretive including in the previous quarter.

 

On the increasing competitive intensity in the quick commerce space, Dhindsa said the company will focus on its own work as long as competitive tactics do not impact their business meaningfully. "So far, there hasn't been any noticeable impact of the recent increase in competitive intensity on our business quality, customers and our NOV (net order value) market share. We don't believe you can build a strong quick commerce business on the back of heavy discounting," Dhindsa said. However, he added that should tactics adopted by its competition start affecting Blinkit's business, the company might take measures which can impact their margins.

 

Going forward, the company is confident that Blinkit's margin could expand to 5-6% of its net order value. Relatively more mature cities such as Delhi NCR, which are more evolved in terms of infrastructure, is already closer to the stated guidance, Dhindsa said. He added that further margin expansion is likely in Gurugram and Noida as competition and cost of expansion ease over time.

 

"In the near term, however, NOV (net order value) growth can be influenced by competitive intensity, which introduces some volatility. While aggressive pricing actions can stimulate demand, that demand is often less durable, leading to moderation in subsequent growth," he said. 

 

In Oct-Dec, the net average order value in the quick commerce business was INR 547, up slightly from INR 546 a year ago.

 

The net order value in Eternal's food delivery business grew 16.6% on year in the December quarter to INR 98.46 billion. Speaking on demand growth in the business over the next 12 months, Goyal said, "We're not expecting sudden acceleration--there's no specific tailwind out there that would drive windfall growth. That said, we do expect YoY (year-on-year) growth to inch up gradually towards 20% over time." 

 

On the social security benefits envisaged for gig and platform workers under the new labour codes, the company said, "The exact operational and financial details of the social security code will become clear only once the rules are notified...Most likely, the business should be able to absorb most of this impact and hence we don't expect any change in our long term margin guidance in any business." The company does not estimate a material impact on its financials on account aspects such as gratuity and leave encashment, among others.

 

The new labour codes mandate that basic pay must account for at least 50% of an employee's total cost to the company. As a result, pay-outs and provisions tied to statutory contributions such as provident fund contribution, gratuity, and leave-related benefits are set to increase for companies.  

 

RISE IN EXPENSES

The company's total expenses on a consolidated basis nearly trippled on year to INR 164.93 billion in the December quarter. This was led by a more than 567% on-year jump in its expenses related to purchase of stock-in-trade at INR 100.76 billion. Eternal's expenses tied to delivery and related charges increased nearly 64% on year to INR 23.76 billion in the three months under review. The company's employee benefit expense for the reporting quarter rose almost 33% on year to INR 9.14 billion and its depreciation and amortisation expenses grew nearly 78% on year to INR 4.39 billion.

 

As of Dec. 31, the company's cash balance added up to INR 178.20 billion, lower than the 183.14 billion at the end of the previous quarter.

 

For the first nine months of FY26, Eternal reported a consolidated net profit of INR 1.92 billion on revenues of INR 370.72 billion.

 

The food delivery and quick commerce company reported its December-quarter earnings post market hours. Ahead of the announcement, shares of the company's ended Wednesday's session over 5% higher at INR 283.50 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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