Eternal's Stellar Q3: Profit Soars 73% as Deepinder Goyal Steps Down

Synopsis Eternal Q3 Results: Eternal, operator of Zomato and Blinkit, announced a significant 73% profit jump to Rs 102 crore and a 201% revenue increase to Rs 16,315 crore. Deepinder Goyal is transitioning from MD & CEO to Vice Chairman. Albinder Singh Dhindsa will now lead the company as CEO. The food delivery segment saw strong growth and record margins. Listen to this article in summarized format Loading... × Eternal, which operates the food delivery platform Zomato and quick commerce arm Blinkit, on Wednesday reported a 73% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 102 crore. Revenue from operations surged 201% YoY to Rs 16,315 crore. The company informed the exchanges that Deepinder Goyal has resigned as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective February 1. He will take on a new role as Vice Chairman and Director on the Board. Meanwhile, Albinder Singh Dhindsa, currently CEO of Blinkit, will take over as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. Goyal said he has found himself drawn to a set of new ideas that involve significantly higher-risk exploration and experimentation. "These are the kinds of ideas that are better pursued outside a public company like Eternal." As Group CEO, Dhindsa will own day-to-day execution, operating priorities, and business decisions, while Goyal's involvement in long-term strategy, culture, leadership development, and ethics and governance, will continue. Live Events Revenue growth and EBITDA Revenue growth was mainly driven by an accounting shift to inventory ownership in quick commerce, where revenue now includes the full value of goods sold rather than just marketplace commission. Eternal said, the like-for-like revenue growth during the quarter was 64% YoY. Consolidated EBITDA increased 28% YoY to Rs 364 crore, while rising 63% QoQ. Food delivery business For the food delivery business, adjusted revenue rose 26% YoY to Rs 2,413 crore. Net order value (NOV) increased 17% YoY, accelerating from 13.8% growth in the previous quarter. This marked the second consecutive quarter of NOV growth acceleration, following a trough of 13.1% in Q1FY26. Gross order value (GOV) growth for the third quarter stood at 21% YoY. On margins, the segment’s adjusted EBITDA margin (as a percentage of NOV) touched an all-time high of 5.4%. The business reported absolute adjusted EBITDA of Rs 531 crore for the quarter, up 26% YoY and 6% QoQ. Quick commerce (Blinkit) In the quick commerce segment, NOV growth remained robust at 121% YoY despite GST changes and seasonality. Like-for-like NOV growth stood even higher at 130% YoY. During the quarter, 211 net new stores were added, taking the total store count to 2,027 at the end of the period—about 70 stores short of the company’s guidance of 2,100. Adjusted EBITDA margin (as a percentage of NOV) turned positive for the first time on a quarterly basis, with an adjusted EBITDA profit of Rs 4 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 156 crore in the previous quarter. On competition, Dhindsa said the company remains watchful and that there has been no noticeable impact so far from the recent increase in competitive intensity on business quality, customers or NOV market share. However, Eternal acknowledged that if competitive intensity rises further, the company may need to respond, which could weigh on margins. In the going-out business, NOV grew 20% YoY, while the adjusted EBITDA margin declined to -4.7%, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 121 crore for the quarter, driven by continued investments in category creation. Meanwhile, Hyperpure, the restaurant supply business, continued to grow steadily, with revenue up 33% YoY and 7% QoQ. The segment’s total adjusted EBITDA margin turned positive for the first time, delivering an adjusted EBITDA profit of Rs 1 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 5 crore in the previous quarter. Overall, Eternal’s cash balance declined to Rs 17,820 crore, largely due to planned capex investments in the quick commerce business. On Wednesday, Eternal shares closed nearly 5% higher at Rs 282.8 on the NSE. (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel) (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today. 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