Eternal net rises 73%; Goyal steps down, Dhindsa is CEO

Company says q-comm competition heating up, which could force Blinkit to protect its lead

- Sowmya Ramasubramanian, Vaeshnavi Kasthuril & Saloni Goel

Eternal Ltd, parent company of food delivery service Zomato and quick commerce service Blinkit, reported 73% growth in consolidated net profit year-on-year (yo-y) to ₹102 crore for the December quarter.

Consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter more than tripled to ₹16,315 crore from ₹5,4065 crore in the same quarter last year. However, Blinkit missed its dark store expansion targets.

In a surprise move, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Deepinder Goyal announced he is stepped down from his role. Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa will take over from him from 1 February, while Goyal will be appointed vice chairman.

In a letter released by Eternal, Goyal explained the reason behind his resignation, saying of late, he found himself “drawn to a set of new ideas that involve significantly higher-risk exploration and experimentation”.

“These are the kinds of ideas that are better pursued outside a public company like Eternal. If these ideas belonged inside Eternal’s strategic scope, I would have pursued them within the company. They do not,” he said.