Blinkit was acquired by foodtech major Zomato for $568 million in an all-stock deal in the early stages of FY23. The deal was widely touted by many as a lifeline for the struggling business, and numbers show that the acquisition may have in fact helped the quick commerce platform.
Following the acquisition, Blinkit registered a three-fold jump in its revenue during fiscal year 2023. Its revenue from operations surged to Rs 724.2 crore in FY23 from Rs 236.1 crore in FY22, according to its standalone financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies.
Blinkit makes money from the marketplace commissions which accounted for 55.9% of the total operating collection. This income grew 2.75X to Rs 404.5 crore in the last fiscal year from Rs 146.8 crore in FY22.
Revenue Breakdown
FY22
Total ₹ 236.1 Cr
FY23
Total ₹ 724.2 Cr
The company also generates significant income from advertising solutions displayed on its mobile app. Advertising along with revenue from delivery and supporting services pushed its total operating revenue to Rs 724.2 crore in FY23. Check TheKredible to see the detailed revenue breakdown.
Expense Breakdown
FY22
Total ₹ 1236 Cr
FY23
Total ₹ 1939 Cr
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Employee benefit expense
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Delivery and related charges
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Outsource manpower expenses
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Rent
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Advertising promotional expenses
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Customer Fulfilment
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Others
On the cost side, delivery and related charges formed 29.2% of the total expenses. In the line of scale, this cost elevated 2.4X to Rs 565.8 crore in FY23 from Rs 235.9 crore in FY22. Its employee, advertising, rental, and outsourcing manpower costs drove its overall expenditure to Rs 1,939 crore in FY23. Head to TheKredible to see its complete expense breakup.
With the three-fold growth and prudent expense management, the firm managed to limit its losses which increased 8.2% to Rs 1,078.9 crore in FY23 from Rs 996.7 crore in FY22. Caveat: we have excluded the cost of loss of valuation of share warrant and CCPS due to non-cash in nature.
Its ROCE and EBITDA margins stood at -213.59% and -119.79% respectively during FY23. On a unit level, it spent Rs 2.52 to earn a rupee.
FY22-FY23
FY22 | FY23 | |
---|---|---|
EBITDA Margin | -398.23% | -119.79% |
Expense/₹ of Op Revenue | ₹5.25 | ₹2.52 |
ROCE | -1732.70% | -213.59% |
While there is a massive gap to be bridged between revenues and losses yet, Zomato management has repeatedly expressed confidence that the Blinkit acquisition will deliver to shareholders too. That would seem to imply a further 2 year wait going by current trends even as Zomato itself seeks profitability on a consistent basis, on standalone operations. While it will probably need a very deep dive into operations to understand the reasons behind Zomato’s optimism vis-a-vis Blinkit, for now, it will be safe to say that a turnaround is still at least two years away, a period during which Zomato will get many chances to evaluate the Blinkit investment vis-a-vis other opportunities that will come by.