Breaking down BlinkIt’s growth by its numbers in Q1 FY25

Blinkit has displayed outstanding growth since getting acquired by Zomato in 2022, a deal that many considered a distressed one, for $569 million. Not only the quick commerce firm has seen growth in topline but also turned profitable*.

Many experts are apprehensive about the quick commerce model as they believe economics won’t work out in the ten-minute delivery. Blinkit, however, appears to have proven this notion wrong through its latest numbers.

Blinkit saw an exceptional 2.4X year-on-year growth in revenue to Rs 942 crore in June 2024 from Rs 384 crore in June 2023, its financial statements filed by the Zomato Group with the NSE show.

The consistent growth in scale and effective cost-cutting measures enabled Blinkit to turn around its bottom line —shifting from a loss of Rs 105 crore in Q1 FY23 to a profit of Rs 43 crore in the last quarter.

Importantly, Blinkit’s profit zoomed 23X QoQ to Rs 43 crore in Q1 FY25 from Rs 2 crore Q4 FY24. The quick commerce biz along with Hyperpure spiked the Zomato group’s profit by 44.6% to Rs 253 crore in Q1 FY25

*Caveat: Blinkit’s profit figures do not include other income and non-cash elements including ESOPs, depreciation and finance costs.

As per Zomato, BlinkIt’s adjusted EBITDA stood at negative Rs 3 crore in the last quarter of the ongoing fiscal year (Q1 FY25).

Blinkit’s gross order value (GOV) surged 2.3X to Rs 4,923 crore in Q1 FY25 from Rs 2,140 in Q1 FY FY24 while its numbers of order grew in a similar pattern to 78.8 million during the same period.

The Q1 numbers drive home the point that you underestimate, or even write off Zomato at your own peril. Besides an almost Teflon-like ability to shrug off controversies, the firm has built a bit of a reputation for its unconventional approach to business, including its marketing, with the numbers to justify it. 

Even now, many people have rushed to say Blinkit will be the horse pulling the group wagon soon, but we wouldn't go as far as that. Besides the almost duopoly we have in the market today nationally between Zomato and Swiggy, Zomato’s other diversifications might yet surprise too. Be it Dine Out or Live events, none have come with quite the barrage of negativism that had greeted Blinkit, and yet, we know the story only too well. Zomato’s high valuation certainly has enough behind it for now.