Blinkit losses widen to Rs 178 crore in Q4 FY25; company adds 294 net new stores

Quick commerce platform Blinkit, which is part of Eternal Ltd (formerly Zomato), posted a sharp rise in its adjusted EBITDA losses for Q4FY25, reporting rs 178 crore compared to Rs 103 crore in the previous quarter. The losses, which was anticipated, reflected the company’s aggressive store and infrastructure expansion strategy.

As per the Q4 result, Blinkit added 294 net new stores during the quarter — its highest-ever addition in a single quarter — taking the total number of operational stores to 1,301. Notably, nearly 40% of these stores are currently underutilized, having been opened in the last two quarters. To support this scale-up, Blinkit also added 1 million sq ft of new warehousing space.

Despite the widening losses, the company saw a marginal improvement in contribution margin, which rose from 3.8% to 3.9% of Net Order Value (NOV). The company introduced NOV as a new metric this quarter to better reflect actual customer spending, particularly in non-grocery categories where MRP-based GOV can misrepresent transaction value.

During the fourth quarter, Blinkit experienced a significant increase in business. Revenue surged by 122% year-over-year, reaching Rs 1,709 crore compared to Rs 769 crore in the previous year. 

In a statement to shareholders, the company highlighted that profitability is not the immediate focus for Blinkit. The management emphasized the importance of building a robust and dependable network, stating that profitability will naturally follow as the company scales its operations.

Customer acquisition saw a significant uptick with increased marketing investments. The average number of monthly transacting customers jumped to 13.7 million in Q4FY25, up from 10.6 million in the previous quarter.

However, Blinkit noted that while margin expansion was visible in mature store clusters, overall gains were tempered by increased competitive intensity in the market.

Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa said the company had pulled forward many store launches originally planned for FY26, saying, “This was a conscious call to pre-empt competition and strengthen our footprint."

Eternal Q4 results

In the March 2025 quarter, Eternal (formerly Zomato) experienced a significant decrease in net profit, dropping by 78% year-on-year to Rs 39 crore. Despite this, revenue from operations showed a strong growth of 64% YoY, reaching Rs 5,833 crore. The decrease in profitability can be attributed to a substantial increase in expenses, which rose by 68% YoY to Rs 6,104 crore. This decline in profit was further exacerbated by higher investments in expanding the company's quick-commerce vertical, Blinkit, as well as increased infrastructure costs across various segments.

Zomato rolls out Net Order Value metric 

Zomato has introduced a new performance metric — Net Order Value (NOV) — starting Q4FY25, alongside its existing Gross Order Value (GOV) reporting, to provide a more accurate reflection of customer spending across its B2C businesses: food delivery, quick commerce (Blinkit), and going-out.

NOV is calculated by subtracting all discounts — whether funded by the platform or its partners — from GOV. The new metric is especially relevant for Blinkit, where many non-grocery products such as electronics and personal care items are sold at steep discounts compared to their maximum retail price (MRP). Since GOV is reported on MRP, it tends to overstate the actual value of transactions. NOV addresses this discrepancy.

"MRP is a uniquely Indian concept, and as our non-grocery mix has grown significantly on Blinkit, NOV has become a more meaningful metric," Zomato said in its latest update. While less critical for food delivery and going-out, the company will report NOV for these businesses as well to maintain consistency.

Zomato clarified that the shift does not affect its adjusted revenue or EBITDA calculations. The previously communicated GOV growth outlook remains intact, and the company’s adjusted EBITDA margin guidance of 4–5% of GOV translates to 5–6% of NOV.