Zomato-owned quick-commerce platform, Blinkit, experienced a significant increase in ad revenue during the December quarter. While the exact figures were not disclosed, the growth outpaced the year-on-year increase in gross order value. Albinder Dhindsa, CEO of Blinkit, emphasized the potential of quick-commerce advertising and the importance of linking ad impressions to actual sales. This trend aligns with the increasing reliance on advertising revenue among food-delivery and quick-commerce platforms in India.
Amazon India’s top seller, Appario Retail, is planning to find a new joint venture partner to continue selling on the platform after being delisted by Amazon. RBI is exploring ways to enhance digital currency payments. Zomato and Swiggy are seeking to explain their position to GST authorities on tax notices. An explainer on artificial general intelligence sheds light on its risks and uses. Other top stories include new rules to control deep-fake content and a data breach at Taj Hotels.
Kotak Institutional Equities has increased the per-share fair value of Zomato to Rs 125 from Rs 100, attributing the increase to the contribution margin for food delivery. The margin rose significantly to Rs 18.5 per order in FY23 from Rs 6.6 in FY22, driven by higher revenues and cost optimization, as per Kotak’s analysis of Zomato’s FY23 annual report.
Private equity firms are increasingly investing in Indian IT services, Dunzo is facing a funding crunch and delaying employee salaries, PhonePe is entering the stockbroking space, and the Indian fintech sector is expected to reach a value of $400 billion by 2030.
Indian food delivery company Swiggy has resumed its IPO planning and is targeting a stock market listing in 2024. The firm, which delivers food and groceries, was valued at $10.7bn in its last funding round in 2022. Swiggy has invited eight investment banks, including Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Bank of America, to pitch for work on the IPO. The company is aiming to list between July and September 2024 and is using its last funding round valuation as a benchmark for planning.
A scam of fake Zomato employees offering bogus membership offers has surfaced in Ludhiana. The scam involves individuals posing as Zomato team members and persuading restaurant owners to purchase a membership that guarantees increased profit margins on Zomato orders. Restaurant owners have fallen victim to this scam and are now warning others to be cautious. Zomato officials are aware of the situation and have reported it to the police for investigation.
Zomato Ltd. shares gained 0.08% in Thursday’s trade. Technical analysis suggests an upward trend as the stock trades above the 50-DMA and the 200-DMA. However, the stock also shows a bearish bias as it traded below the signal line of the MACD. The RSI stands at 63.42. The RoE and RoCE for the stock are negative.
In succession of various complaints of tech firms practising anti-competitive and unfair business practices in the digital space, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, alongside Competition Commission of India (CCI), is holding an investigative panel to survey the matter. Indian representatives of huge technological firms like Apple, Google, Netflix, Amazon must show up, including food delivery app Zomato and Swiggy, cab services firm Ola, hotel accommodation firm Oyo and others. The committee stand chaired by former Union minister Jayant Sinha.
