Eternal's quick commerce turns profitable as Goyal exits, Dhindsa steps in

Eternal Ltd.

has announced along with its December quarter results that MD & CEO Deepinder Goyal has quit and has been proposed to be named as Vice Chairman and Director. Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa has been named the new MD & CEO of Eternal.

This transition in Eternal's top management is subject to shareholder approval.

For the December quarter, Eternal reported a net profit of ₹102 crore, which is in-line with the CNBC-TV18 poll of ₹102 crore. Revenue for the quarter was also aided by higher other income.

Revenue for the quarter increased to ₹16,315 crore, which is higher than the CNBC-TV18 poll of ₹15,500 crore. The topline growth was led by the Quick Commerce business.

Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at ₹368 crore, marginally higher than the ₹300 crore estimate, while margins expanded by 50 basis points to 2.3% from 1.8% last year and also higher than the CNBC-TV18 poll of 1.9%.

On a year-on-year basis, Eternal's net profit grew by 57%, revenue grew 20%, while EBITDA was up 54% from last year.

Eternal also announced that its Quick Commerce and Hyperpure businesses turned Adjusted EBITDA profitable during the quarter.

Quick Commerce's net order value (NOV) grew by 121% from last year, impacted partially by GST changes and seasonality. Net order value (NOV) for the food delivery business was up by 16.6% from last year.

"District's losses increased on account of continued investments in category creation. Expect losses to reduce sequentially towards breakeven in the next 4-6 quarters," Eternal's shareholder letter stated.

Eternal's Quick-Commerce business turned profitable with an Adjusted EBITDA profit of ₹4 crore compared to a loss of ₹156 crore in the previous quarter. Store count at the end of the quarter stood at 2,027, 70 short of the guidance of 2,100 crore. 90% of Blinkit's net order value came from its own inventory.

Shares of Eternal had ended 4.9% higher on Wednesday before the earnings announcement at ₹282.8. The stock is up 33% in the last 12 months, but are down significantly from their 52-week high of ₹368.45.