Zomato's Net Losses Increased Three Times to Rs 360 Cr as expenses mount

Online food delivery platform Zomato reported net loss of Rs 360 crore during the first quarter (Q1) this year -- nearly triple from Rs 134.2 crore net loss in the same quarter last year.

The company's expenses almost doubled to Rs 1,701.7 crore in the March quarter, compared with Rs 885 crore a year ago, according to the company's regulatory filing.

"Yes, we did see a low QoQ growth in Q3FY22 as dining-out and travel opened up post Covid. We believe that was a one time correction of our growth trajectory on the back of two strong quarters," Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said.

"Having said that, even before Covid, growth in our business has been lumpy (and not linear) - so it is essential to take a long term view of our business," he added.

Zomato's revenue from operations during the March quarter reached Rs 1,211.8 crore, a jump of 75.01 per cent as against Rs 692.4 crore in the same period last year.

"We are aiming for accelerated growth along with further reduction in losses (and increasing profits in some time). We are clear on what our long term shareholders expect of us and we are working hard to deliver on both growth and profitability expectations," Goyal said in a statement.

The company's adjusted revenue grew 8 per cent quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and 67 per cent year-over-year to Rs 15.4 billion in Q4FY22.

Adjusted EBITDA loss reduced to Rs 2.2 billion (-15 per cent of adjusted revenue) in Q4FY22 as compared to Rs 2.7 billion (-19 per cent of Adjusted Revenue) in Q3FY22.

For the full financial year, Zomato's loss stood at Rs 1,222.5 crore in 2021-22, compared with Rs 816.4 crore in the previous year.

On Zomato Instant, Goyal said it is currently a pilot to test 10-minute delivery of limited food SKUs.

"The hypotheses that we are testing are -- a) do customers order more if delivery time reduces to 10 minutes and b) is there a business model where delivery of food can be done in 10 minutes at the same or better contribution per order than our existing business," he said.

"We do not have any answers here yet as the pilot has been live for a few days and only in one location. We can perhaps give you some update on this in the next quarter," he added.