Zomato recorded a second consecutive quarter of net profit in the September quarter at Rs 36 crore, while revenue rose 71 percent to Rs 2,848 crore in a period, at a time when the broader e-commerce sector is reeling under the pressure of high inflation and muted demand.
During the same quarter last year, Zomato had posted a net loss of Rs 302 crore while its revenues stood at Rs 1,661 crore.
The hyperlocal commerce company’s performance has been driven by a strengthening of its economies of scale as the money it makes on a per order basis has grown, and a surge in the subscriptions of its loyalty programme.
ALSO READ: Zomato-owned Blinkit turns contribution positive in Q2
The revised Gold loyalty programme has scaled to 3.8 million members within three quarters since its re-launch, and its members now account for around 40 percent of the company's food delivery sales.
"On balance, we think that QoQ GOV growth in food delivery in the next quarter should be moderate - around high single digit which should translate to about 25-30% YoY GOV growth," Zomato CFO Akshant Goyal said in a letter to shareholders on November 3.
In the past six months, Zomato's stock price has shot up 74 percent, after remaining subdued in the preceding one year over an uncertain path to profitability and selling by its pre-IPO investors, who looked to book gains in a choppy market for tech companies.
ALSO READ: Zomato discount offers are not exactly honest, admits CEO Deepinder Goyal
Zomato shares closed at Rs 117.95 a piece on the BSE on November 3, up 9.7 percent from its previous close of Rs 107.55.
Blinkit's march
In a letter to shareholders, the company said that its quick commerce arm Blinkit saw sales grow 29 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 2,760 crore. It also became contribution margin positive in a quarter for the first time.
"GOV (gross order value) growth was largely driven by same store sales growth as we continue to focus on serving more customer needs and ensuring consistency of service levels. We also saw a net addition of 28 new stores during the quarter, taking our overall store count to 411 stores as at the end of the quarter," the company said.
"Even on the profitability front, over 60% of our stores are now Contribution positive, and many of them are already at 5%+ contribution margin (as a % of GOV). We are now seeing profitable economics not just at a store level but also at a city level - where some of our cities are now operating at similar Contribution per order as the food delivery business in those cities. ," it added.
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