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Quick commerce major Zepto experienced a substantial surge in revenue. It reported an impressive increase of approximately 120%, with revenues climbing from Rs 2,026 crore in FY23 to Rs 4,455 crore in FY24. This growth was attributed to the growing trend of customers opting for 10-minute deliveries.

Zepto saw strong revenue growth, which helped to partially offset its losses thanks to improved margins. The company’s net loss decreased by 2%, totaling Rs 1,248.64 crore in FY24 compared to Rs 1,271.84 crore in FY23. As a result, the loss as a percentage of revenue decreased significantly from 63% in FY23 to 28% in FY24.

Zepto significantly invested in marketing, materials, and other expenses, leading to a 72% rise in total expenses from Rs 3,350 crore in FY23 to Rs 5,747 crore in FY24. Despite this substantial increase, the company managed to reduce its losses slightly, by approximately 2%, from Rs 1,272 crore in FY23 to Rs 1,249 core in FY24.

“Our accounting revenue has grown 120% year-on-year from…Even with 120 percent growth, our absolute losses came down year-on-year with PAT as a percentage of revenue improving from -63% in FY23 to -28% in FY24. We expect to continue this growth momentum with a clear path to PAT profitability in the near term,” CEO and co-founder Aadit Palicha said on LinkedIn.

Zepto’s largest expenditure in the fiscal year was on the purchase of goods, totaling Rs 3,449.83 Cr. This marked a 77% increase from the previous year’s expenditure of Rs 1,953.03 Cr.

Employee Expenses: Zepto allocated Rs 426.30 crore towards its workforce, showing a 62% increase from the previous fiscal year’s expenditure of Rs 263.45 crore.

Warehousing Cost: Expenditure for warehousing totaled Rs 492.65 crore, reflecting a 43% increase from the previous fiscal year’s spending of Rs 344.79 crore.

Ad Expenses: Zepto invested Rs 303.55 Cr in advertising and promotion in FY24, representing a 41% increase from the previous fiscal year’s expenditure of Rs 215.82 crore.

Established in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto Datalabs offers speedy 10-minute delivery services for various products including groceries, packaged foods, ready-to-eat meals, daily essentials, and electronics.

In 2024, Zepto embarked on a successful fundraising journey, securing a total of over $1.3 billion in three rounds of funding. The company raised $665 million in June, followed by $340 million in August, and an additional $350 million in November.

Zepto is one of the top three quick commerce companies in India, competing with Zomato’s Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart. While Blinkit leads the market, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto are in a close competition. In terms of revenue, Zepto surpasses both competitors.

In the fiscal year FY24, Blinkit generated revenue of Rs 2,301 crore, Swiggy Instamart had total sales of Rs 1,100 crore, and Zepto outperformed with a top line of Rs 4,455 crore.

These three companies face competition from Flipkart Minutes, Tata BigBasket, and are gearing up for the entry of industry giants like Amazon.

Zepto’s IPO plans

Palicha expressed optimism regarding the potential for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2025. In November, Zepto secured $350 million in fresh funding from prominent domestic investors such as Indian HNIs, leading financial institutions, and family offices in a round championed by Motilal Oswal’s Private Wealth division. The funding round was aimed at bolstering domestic ownership in anticipation of a potential IPO in 2025, according to Palicha.

Palicha told news agency PTI: “That’s our ambition…of course, capital markets may change, but for now we’re optimistic if the business continues to perform as well, that we will go public in calendar 2025.”
It is worth noting that Zepto’s rivals, Zomato, which operates Blinkit, and Swiggy, which runs Instamart, are listed on the stock exchanges.

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Cumulative investment commitments in Indian data centres are likely to surpass $100 billion by the end of 2027, according to a report by CBRE, a real estate advisory firm. Between 2019 and 2024, India attracted investment commitments of $60.3 billion from both domestic and international investors. 

The report stated that India’s data centre capacity is projected to reach approximately 2,070 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2025. The current data centre capacity stands at around 1,255 MW, with nearly 475 MW of capacity under construction across Mumbai, Chennai, and the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). 

Further, in 2024 so far, about $19 billion of investments have been committed. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal emerged as the leading states in terms of cumulative investment commitments. The year may end with India’s data centre capacity being expanded to 1,600 MW. 

Mumbai continues to dominate data centre stock, followed by Chennai, Delhi-NCR, and Bengaluru, accounting for 90 per cent of the country’s total data centre stock as of September 2024, the report said. 

Currently, India’s total data centre stock stands at about 19 million square feet (msf) of land area, which is expected to reach 31 msf by the end of 2025. Key demand drivers for the year ahead include banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) and technology companies. 

Anshuman Magazine, chairman and chief executive officer, India, South-East Asia, Middle East, and Africa, CBRE, believes that the demand from the BFSI, technology, and telecommunications sectors, combined with state-level policy incentives, will continue to fuel this growth, making India one of the most attractive destinations for data centre operators in the coming years. 

States including Maharashtra, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu have released state-specific incentives while deeming data centres as ‘essential services’. 

Additionally, expansion into tier-II cities like Ahmedabad, Kochi, Visakhapatnam, and Lucknow amid regional data consumption growth, cost-efficiency advantages, sustainability, and demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technologies were some of the industry trends highlighted by the report.

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Blinkit, the quick commerce platform owned by India’s food delivery market leader Zomato, has stepped into the 10-minute food delivery space by launching its standalone app, Bistro. The new platform offers snacks, desserts, and beverages to be delivered in 10 minutes, raising competition for other quick commerce platforms like Zepto Cafe and Swiggy Bolt. Bistro is currently accessible in a few areas of Gurugram.

Earlier in 2022, Zomato tested a 10-minute food delivery called Zomato Instant in Gurugram but discontinued it quickly. Zomato’s meal delivery service, which offers home-cooked meals made by home chefs, Zomato Everyday, replaced its 10-minute delivery service back in 2023. Zomato Everyday is currently functional in many cities nationwide, providing affordable, home-cooked meals to many.

While Swiggy’s Bolt is now serviceable in more than 400 cities and accounts for 5% of its total deliveries, Zepto is also upscaling its Zepto Cafe and is all set to launch its separate application this week. According to reports, Zepto Cafe clocks nearly 30,000 orders per day.

Zomato Q2 results

Zomato’s net profit for the July-September quarter of the current fiscal year stood at ₹176 crore, climbing significantly from ₹36 crore profit after tax (PAT) posted in the year-ago period. When compared sequentially, PAT was down by 30% as compared to ₹253 crore recorded in the April-June quarter of FY25.

The company’s food delivery segment posted a gross order value (GOV) of ₹9,690 crore for Q2 FY25, and its grocery delivery vertical, Blinkit, had a GOV of ₹6,132 crore.

Zomato recently completed its ₹8,500 Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), allocating 33.65 crore shares at ₹252.62 per share. The company aims to use the money to expand its quick commerce operations and for marketing purposes. The allotment was at a 5% discount compared to the floor price of ₹265.91 per share.

Zomato shares

While Zomato’s shares opened in the red at ₹279 apiece, down from its previous close of ₹284.9, the stock quickly recovered in the morning trade on Friday, December 13.

The company said on Thursday that Thane’s GST department has imposed a tax liability of ₹803.4 crore, which includes interest and penalty. The tax demand order is due to the non-payment of GST on delivery charges with interest and penalty on the same, as per Zomato’s regulatory filing.

Zomato’s scrip is ready to enter the BSE SENSEX on December 23, 2024 marking a significant development for the company. The stock has seen an upward trend over the year and has given 129% year-to-date (YTD) returns and a 138% surge in the past 12 months.

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India’s retail inflation in November aligned with market expectations and remained within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) tolerance band. The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation moderated to 5.48% year-on-year (YoY), primarily driven by easing food prices.

CPI inflation for December is projected to range between 5.3% and 5.4%, while economists estimate inflation for FY25 to average 4.8% – 4.9%, with a gradual glide toward the RBI’s 4% target by the second quarter of FY26.

The deceleration in inflation has fueled calls for monetary policy easing amid concerns over domestic economic growth. Analysts anticipate that the RBI could initiate a shallow rate-cut cycle in its February 2025 policy meeting, provided inflation continues to decline.

Rate-Cut Prospects

Madhavi Arora, Lead Economist at Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd., emphasized that while the headline CPI trajectory aligns with the RBI’s upwardly revised forecasts, this does not necessarily indicate a prolonged or deep rate-cut cycle.

“The policy trade-offs are getting acute with a tricky and small window of conventional rate cuts as global dynamics turn more fluid. Besides, mounting FX pressures and increasing cost of FX intervention will need to be weighed before deeply cutting rates ahead. We do not, for now, rule out a cut in February 2025, but would be more comfortable taking a firm call closer to the policy window, especially with a new Governor and MPC in place,” Arora said.

Arora also highlighted the potential for unconventional easing measures, such as gradually relaxing regulatory lending norms to revitalize credit offtake.

Hitesh Suvarna of JM Financial anticipates that the next step in RBI’s policy action will involve a rate cut, contingent on the continuation of the downward trend in inflation.

“By then, RBI would have also evaluated the impact of Trump’s tariff policies. Other than growth and inflation dynamics, defending the currency is one of RBI’s main tasks hence in a scenario where USD is expected to strengthen, RBI would want to stretch its rate easing cycle. We expect a shallow rate cut cycle (50-75 bps) both in the US and in India,” Suvarna said.

Global and Domestic Policy Context

The US Federal Reserve initiated its rate-cut cycle earlier this year, delivering cumulative reductions of 75 basis points and is widely expected to lower rates by an additional 25 basis points next week, bringing the federal funds rate to 4.25% – 4.50%.

Domestically, while the RBI has maintained policy rates to address high inflation, it shifted its monetary stance to ‘neutral’ during the October policy meeting and reduced the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points in December. This move is seen as paving the way for a potential repo rate cut in February 2025.

The upcoming changes in the RBI’s MPC composition — marked by the induction of three new external members in October and Sanjay Malhotra’s appointment as the new Governor — along with a possible new Deputy Governor, are also expected to influence policy decisions.

Fiscal and Inflation Outlook

Radhika Rao, Executive Director and Senior Economist at DBS Bank, noted that by February, the RBI will have access to November and December inflation data as well as the FY26 Budget.

She anticipates headline inflation to normalize as the effects of weather-related disruptions on food prices subside, with inflation stabilizing in the 4%–5% range. Additionally, she expects the FY26 Budget to underscore fiscal consolidation, aligning with the government’s deficit target of -4.5%.

“We maintain our call for a 25 bps cut at the February meeting, with cumulative 75 bps cuts in this cycle, keeping an eye on the US dollar and dollar liquidity,” Rao said.

Outlook

While easing inflation strengthens the case for monetary policy adjustments, the trajectory of rate cuts will hinge on both domestic and global factors, including currency stability and fiscal priorities. A cautious approach is expected, with February emerging as a pivotal juncture for policy decisions.

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Spicejet rose 1.32% to Rs 58.55 after the company has successfully cleared all pending employee provident fund (PF) dues amounting to Rs 160.07 crore, spanning over two years, reaffirming its commitment to financial accountability.Over the past three months, since raising Rs 3,000 crore through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), the airline has cleared all pending statutory liabilities, including Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), Goods and Services Tax (GST), and employee salary dues.

With the airline now current on its statutory dues, it is poised to save significantly on interest payments.

In addition to clearing its statutory obligations, the company has resolved multiple outstanding disputes with aircraft lessors and other creditors, significantly improving its balance sheet.

Since October 2024, the company has been utilising its internal cash flows to meet its statutory obligations, including PF and TDS payments, reflecting the airlines improved financial health and operational discipline.

Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet, said, We are pleased to announce the clearance of all pending employee PF dues. This marks a new chapter in SpiceJets journey. By clearing all pending statutory dues and settling disputes with lessors and creditors, we are demonstrating our unwavering commitment to operational excellence, financial prudence, and the welfare of our employees. With the successful implementation of our financial turnaround strategy, we are confident in our ability to continue delivering superior service to our customers and achieving sustainable growth.

SpiceJet is a low-budget air carrier. The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 737s, Q-400s & freighters and is the country’s largest regional player operating multiple daily flights under UDAN or the Regional Connectivity Scheme. The airline also operates a dedicated air cargo service under the brand name SpiceXpress offering cargo connectivity across India and on international routes.

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