On Wednesday, Akshant Goyal, CFO of Zomato, shared that Blinkit is experiencing growth in smaller cities and plans to gradually expand its presence. Speaking at Zomato’sannual general meeting for 2023-24, Goyal noted, “We are currently operating in about 26 cities, and we are seeing growth in some smaller cities where we’ve launched. Our goal is to expand further into more cities over time..”
”He added, “There is significant growth potential even in major metropolitan areas, so while our primary focus will be on these large cities, we will also continue to extend our reach into smaller cities over time.”
Brokerage firms indicate that Blinkit is now a significant contributor to Zomato’s market cap, surpassing the company’s core food delivery business. Acquired by Zomato in 2022, Blinkit aims to expand its network of dark stores, or micro warehouses, to 1,000 by the end of FY25 and over 2,000 by 2026.
Zomato’s chairman, Kaushik Dutta, attributed Blinkit’s growth in the past financial year to the addition of new dark stores and an expanded product range.
FY24 marked Zomato’s first full year of net profit, bolstered by increased profitability in its food delivery sector, despite slower growth in this segment.
Dutta highlighted that Zomato is on track to meet its 4-5% EBITDA margin target in the food delivery business. In FY24, the food delivery segment saw a 23% increase in gross order value (GOV) to Rs 32,224 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 2.8% of GOV.
During the AGM, CFO Akshant Goyal mentioned that Zomato will maintain its focus on its four key areas: food delivery, quick commerce, business-to-business grocery supplies, and the new going-out segment.
Additionally, Zomato announced the completion of its acquisition of Paytm’s entertainment and events ticketing business, valued at Rs 2,048 crore.
