Zomato share prices rose as much as 13.5% during the intraday trade on Friday as the food aggregator posted its first-ever profit aided by operational improvement in the company’s food business. 

The online food delivery platform reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 2 crore in its Q1 earnings report for FY24. The company reported a net loss of 186 crore during the same quarter last year and a Rs 189 crore loss in the March 2023 quarter. Analysts had expected the company to report a net loss of around Rs 110-160 crore for Q1FY24.

The consolidated revenue from operations of the firm was up 71% year-on-year (YoY) at ₹2,416 crore, compared with Rs 1,414 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Zomato’s consolidated adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) stood at Rs 12 crore for the April-June quarter of 2023, compared to an EBITDA loss of Rs 152 crore in the year-ago quarter. This surprised market participants as analysts expected an EBITDA loss of up to Rs 200 crore in the quarter.

The bottom line is also aided by a tax credit of Rs 17 crore and other income, which was higher by Rs 10 crore than the previous March quarter. However, both these components were present in the base quarter as well.

The food delivery giant also posted a jump in its gross order value (GOV) for Q1FY24 at Rs 7,318 crore, compared to Rs 6,425 crore in the year-ago quarter of the previous fiscal led by robust growth in the number of orders and a modest uptick in average order value. 

Zomato’s food delivery margins soared to 13.6 per cent. The adjusted EBITDA margin stood at 0.4%, a growth of 900 basis points YoY. The average monthly transacting customers were at 1.75 crores in Q1FY24 as against 1.67 crores in the same period a year ago.

The online food delivery giant said its quick commerce business, Blinkit, turned contributive positive for the first time ever in the month of June 2023. Blinkit’s adjusted net revenue stood at Rs 2,402 crore, posting a growth of 33% YoY.

The company’s Hyperpure business vertical reported revenue growth of 29% quarter-on-quarter and 126% YoY to Rs 617 crore in Q1FY24, driven by growth across its core restaurant supplies and the quick commerce business.

The company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Akshant Goyal, expects its business to remain profitable going forward with over 40% YoY topline growth for at least the next few years.

At 12:50 pm, shares of Zomato were trading at Rs 95.25, up 10.05% from the previous closing price on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The stock hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 98.40 during the day.