Going Out Shines For Zomato In Q2, ‘District’ Launch In 4 Weeks

Foodtech major Zomato released its financial results for the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) on October 22. Here are the key takeaways:

Profit Takes A Hit: After five consecutive quarters of rising profits, the foodtech giant’s consolidated net profit tanked 30% to INR 176 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 253 Cr in the preceding June quarter.

Profit withered quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) on account of a jump in expenses. However, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, profit jumped 389% from INR 36 Cr in Q2 FY24.

Noticeably, Zomato’s operating revenue jumped more than 68.5% to INR 4,799 Cr in Q2 FY25 from INR 2,848 Cr in the September quarter of the previous fiscal. It also rose more than 14% QoQ from INR 4,206 Cr in Q1 FY25.

Food Delivery Wobbles: Even as other Zomato verticals continued their hyper growth phase, the core food delivery vertical saw a slowdown. 

Sequentially, gross order value (GOV) of the food delivery vertical rose a mere 5% QoQ to INR 9,690 Cr in Q2 FY25. Additionally, food delivery business’ revenue also grew a mere 4% sequentially to INR 2,340 Cr in the quarter under September 2024. 

However, on a YoY basis, GOV and revenue grew by a healthy 21% compared to the September 2023 quarter. 

Going Out Business Emerges As A Star: The foodtech giant’s going out business scaled up rapidly during the quarter under review following the acquisition of Paytm Insider. 

The GOV of the vertical grew a staggering 171% YoY and 46% QoQ to INR 1,849 Cr in Q2 FY25. The going out arm had recorded a GOV of INR 1,268 Cr in Q1 FY25 and INR 682 Cr in Q2 FY24.

On the revenue front, the growth was even more impressive as the top line jumped 214% to INR 154 Cr in Q2 FY25 from INR 49 Cr in Q2 FY24.

Giving an update on the launch of its new “District” app, founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said that it will likely be live in the next four weeks. 

“At this point, we are focused on making sure we do a good job at migrating the business from Zomato and Paytm platforms to the new District app,” Goyal said.

Blinkit Continues Its March: The quick commerce arm more than doubled its revenue to INR 1,156 Cr in the September quarter of FY25 from INR 505 Cr in the year-ago period. Even on a QoQ basis, revenue jumped 23% from INR 942 Cr.

Alongside, the quick commerce vertical continued to trim its adjusted EBITDA loss, which stood at INR 8 Cr during the quarter under review as against an adjusted EBITDA loss of INR 125 Cr in the year-ago quarter.However, it rose from a loss of INR 3 Cr logged during the June quarter. 

Blinkit’s GOV zoomed 122% to INR 6,132 Cr in Q2 FY25 from INR 2,760 Cr in Q2 FY24. It also clocked a strong 25% growth in its GOV from INR 4,923 Cr in Q1 FY25.

Blinkit Loses Sheen In Delhi NCR: The quick commerce giant witnessed a decline in its market share in the Delhi NCR region, as the company has shifted its focus on expanding its presence in other metro cities.

As per CEO Goyal, Blinkit’s market share in Delhi NCR declined to 40% during the quarter under review from about 47% a couple of quarters ago.

Meanwhile, Blinkit added 152 stores and 7 warehouses during the September quarter, taking the total number of dark stores under its kitty to 791 compared to 639 in the previous quarter. However, this expansion spree took a toll and led to a significant increase in the foodtech major’s overall capital expenditure. 

In total, Blinkit is targeting a total dark store count of 2,000 by the end of FY26.

Overall, Blinkit’s average daily GOV per store grew to INR 12.7 Lakh in the reported quarter, a more than 2X jump from INR 5.9 Lakh in Q2 FY24. Sequentially, it rose 21% from INR 10.5 Lakh in the June quarter.

Hyperpure On Steady Growth Course: Zomato’s B2B arm Hyperpure, which supplies fruits, vegetables and groceries to restaurants, saw its revenue nearly double (98%) YoY to INR 1,473 Cr in Q2 FY25 from INR 745 Cr in Q2 FY24.

Meanwhile, the company also secured the nod from its board to raise INR 8,500 Cr (about $1 Bn) via qualified institutional placement (QIP). Addressing this, CEO Goyal said that the foodtech major’s maiden fundraise post listing will be undertaken to enhance its cash balance. 

“… We believe that capital by itself does not give anyone the right to win (and that service quality is the key determinant of success), but we want to ensure that we are on a level playing field with our competitors, who continue to raise additional capital,” added CEO Goyal. 

Meanwhile, something else also appears to be cooking at Zomato. Earlier in the day, the foodtech major announced that it has received the board’s nod to acquire an 8% stake in kitchen appliances maker Byondnxt.