Brands
Zomato serves profits on a hot plate, but GST bite still simmers
MUMBAI: Eternal Limited (yes, the artist formerly known as Zomato) has dished out its full-year results for FY25 and it’s a mixed bag of spicy growth, some bitter tax overhang, and a sprinkle of strategic acquisitions.
Clocking in a consolidated profit of Rs 527 crore, the company posted a sharp jump from Rs 351 crore last year. Total income rose to Rs 21,320 crore, up 64 per cent year-on-year, led by robust performance across its three main revenue streams food delivery (Rs 8,080 crore), Hyperpure B2B supplies (Rs 6,196 crore), and quick commerce (Rs 5,206 crore). Even its lesser-known “Going Out” vertical (think restaurant reservations and events) contributed a modest Rs 737 crore.
But it wasn’t all gravy. Eternal continues to battle the ghosts of legacy operations, its subsidiaries Zomato Hyperpure, Blinkit, and Zomato Entertainment racked up accumulated losses of Rs 877 crore, Rs 2,328 crore, and Rs 130 crore respectively. Blinkit alone dragged down segment results, contributing to a Rs 21 crore loss in the quick commerce vertical, though that’s a significant improvement over last year’s Rs 253 crore deficit.
The company also weathered a Rs 420 crore GST storm, with demand orders from Maharashtra and West Bengal authorities for taxes and penalties on delivery charges from 2019 to 2022. While Eternal believes it has a “strong case on merits” and has appealed the orders, the final outcome remains up in the air.
Adding to its expansion menu, Eternal acquired the movie and event ticketing arms of Paytm Orbgen and Wasteland Entertainment in a Rs 2,014 crore deal, booking a combined Rs 1,020 crore in goodwill in the process.
The company isn’t shying away from splurging either. It raised a cool Rs 8,500 crore through a QIP, and ploughed much of it back into investments, with mutual fund units, bonds and subsidiaries eating up a significant portion. Yet, Eternal ended the year with a hefty Rs 666 crore in cash, even after burning Rs 7,993 crore on investments and spending Rs 8,042 crore on financing activities.
Employee stock options continue to be a favoured dish over 477 million shares were allotted to the ESOP trust this year.
So, while the food’s hot and the numbers are sizzling, it’s clear that Eternal is still in the kitchen cooking up clarity on the tax front and trying not to get burned.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
