Eternal Q3 Results: Profit surges 73% YoY to ₹102 crore; revenue jumps 3-fold

Bengaluru: Eternal Ltd, parent company of food delivery service Zomato and quick commerce service Blinkit, reported 73% growth in consolidated net profit year-on-year (YoY) to ₹102 crore for the December quarter. Consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter more than tripled to ₹16,315 crore from ₹5,405 crore in the same quarter last year. However, Blinkit missed its dark store expansion targets.

Managing director and CEO Deepinder Goyal stepped down from his role. Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa will take over from him from 1 February, while Goyal will be appointed vice chairman.

Blinkit achieved adjusted-Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) profitability in the December 2025 quarter, underscoring improving unit economics even as quick commerce competition intensified. However, Blinkit missed its dark store expansion target by nearly 70 stores due pollution curbs in Delhi NCR and a surge in orders during Diwali.

“Extended pollution-related restrictions slowed construction and store fit-outs in our largest city for several weeks (these restrictions still continue as on date),” Dhindsa said in a letter to shareholders on Wednesday. “During Diwali and surrounding weeks, we had to refocus our operations team’s bandwidth on managing record order volumes rather than opening new stores. This is a timing issue.” However, the firm remains on track to hit its goal of 3,000 stores by March 2027, Dhindsa added.

Adjusted Ebitda positive

Blinkit’s adjusted Ebitda turned positive at ₹4 crore for the first time on a quarterly basis, compared to a loss of ₹156 crore in the previous quarter. Blinkit’s net order value (combined value of all orders including discounts and other expenses) stood at ₹13,300 crore.

Eternal management said competition in quick commerce was heating up, which could force Blinkit to respond and protect its lead in the quick commerce market. Rivals Swiggy Instamart and IPO-bound Zepto are racing to grab market share by doing away with additional fees for delivery, surge, and fulfillment.

“Competitive intensity tends to go up over time and we have to be able to respond to a fairly volatile environment,” Dhindsa added during the earnings call on Wednesday. “Our current guidance of 3,000 stores by March 2027 assumes continued irrational competitive intensity. However, if the competition moderates in the near term, we would want to aim for 3,500-4,000 stores by March 2027,” he added

‘Not sustainable profitability’

“Quick commerce has achieved adjusted Ebitda breakeven at the consolidated segment level for the first time, marking a key milestone in Blinkit’s journey,” Sandeep Abhange, consumer and staples equity research analyst at brokerage firm LKP Securities told Mint. “However, we do not yet see this as sustainable profitability, as aggressive store expansion and associated costs continue to weigh on margins. Blinkit’s path to profitability will depend on store maturity, higher throughput per store and a moderation in the pace of expansion.”

“Blinkit missed its store addition target by around 70–75 stores, but this is not a significant miss and has not reflected in growth numbers, which remain strong,” Satish Meena, founder of Datum Intelligence told Mint. ““Even with the miss in store additions, Blinkit reported close to 120% NOV (net order value) growth, which shows demand momentum remains intact.”

Meena added, however, that competition in quick commerce has grown with the number of firms increasing from 2-3 to to 5-6. “The fight is no longer just about infrastructure; it is also about customer acquisition and retention within a limited delivery radius.” Besides, he said, opening and maintaining dark stores will become more expensive, especially in the top 30 cities, where rents are already high.

Last week, Reliance Industries said JioMart said its hyperlocal delivery business was backed by a network of 3,000 stores – including existing supermarkets and new dark stores – as it handled 1.6 million orders daily. Blinkit said it handled 243.3 million orders this past quarter, or about 2.7 million orders a day.

Food delivery on course

The food delivery segment’s NOV grew 16.6% YoY, helped by a reduction in the minimum order value (to ₹99 from ₹199) for free delivery on Gold orders, which led to higher ordering frequency from the more budget-conscious customers.

Growth rate in food delivery is expected to inch up gradually towards 20% over time, Goyal said in the shareholder letter. “That will come from two things: modest market share gains, and the compounding effect of persistent focus on affordability and selection. Nothing dramatic - just consistent execution adding up,” he added.

Some of Eternal’s smaller initiatives including Blinkit’s 10-minute snacks delivery service Bistro and restaurant supplies business Hyperpure, grew during the quarter. While signs of a product-market fit emerged for Bistro, the Hyperpure business has the potential to touch $1 billion in topline with a 4-5% adjusted Ebitda margin translating to $50 million of adjusted Ebitda profit, chief financial officer Akshant Goyal said in the shareholder letter. “More importantly, more than the size of the opportunity, it fulfills a core capability for each of our B2C businesses,” he added.