Blinkit, the quick commerce subsidiary of Zomato, reported a higher adjusted Ebitda loss of Rs 103 crore for the October-December quarter, up from Rs 89 crore during the same period last year. The adjusted Ebitda excludes ESOP costs. Sequentially, the loss expanded drastically from Rs 8 crore in Q2FY25.
The losses reflect Blinkit’s strategy of rapid expansion to outpace competition in the burgeoning quick commerce segment. “Heightened competition has led to a pause in margin expansion,” said Albinder Dhindsa, CEO of Blinkit.
Despite mounting losses, Blinkit’s revenue surged 117% year-on-year to Rs 1,399 crore in Q3FY25, driven by a sharp increase in gross order value (GOV), which rose 120% to Rs 7,798 crore compared to Rs 3,542 crore in Q3FY24.
The company added 368 dark stores between July and December, taking its total to 1,007, a significant jump from the 188 stores opened in the first half of 2025. The new stores required an investment of Rs 370 crore, putting additional pressure on profitability. Blinkit now aims to operate 2,000 dark stores by December 2025, accelerating its earlier timeline of December 2026.
Akshant Goyal, CFO at Zomato, highlighted that most of these stores are opening in cities where Blinkit already operates, but the focus will shift to smaller cities in the coming year.
Competitors are also ramping up their capacities. Zepto increased its target to 1,200 stores by March 2025, up from 700, while Swiggy plans to expand its network from 600 to 1,000 stores by the same period.
Blinkit achieved a milestone during the quarter, reporting an average order value (AOV) of Rs 707, crossing Rs 700 for the first time. However, the festive season primarily drove this rise, and the company expects the AOV to dip in subsequent quarters.
The company’s contribution margin declined from 3.8% in Q2FY25 to 3% in Q3FY25, largely due to the underperformance of newer stores, which reported margins of -8.5%. In contrast, older stores with over 24 months of operations showed healthier margins of 6.4%.
Dhindsa noted that one-third of GOV came from customers paying an average delivery fee of Rs 20 per order, despite competitors offering lower or no delivery charges. He attributed this to superior service quality, product assortment, and availability.
While losses are likely to continue in the near term due to underutilised stores, Dhindsa remains optimistic. “As more stores mature, the business is poised to turn significantly profitable,” he said, projecting over 100% GOV growth for FY25 and FY26.