Online food delivery platform Zomato Ltd on Thursday reported a narrowing of a consolidated net loss to Rs 67.2 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2021, on the back of better revenue growth.
The company, which had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 352.6 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, said it is updating the upper limit of its potential investments in the food delivery category to $400 million cash over the next two years.
Its consolidated revenue from operations during October-December 2021 stood at Rs 1,112 crore as against Rs 609.4 crore in the year-ago period, Zomato said in a regulatory filing.
It further said total expenses in the third quarter were higher at Rs 1,642.6 crore as against Rs 755.7 crore in the same period last fiscal.
During the quarter, the company said the reduction in customer delivery charges and a soft impact of post-Covid-19 reopening, including some shift from delivery to dining out, resulted in a weak gross order value growth.
On the outlook, Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said, "We remain focused on the bigger picture and the long-term growth potential of our food ordering and delivery business in the years ahead. Zomato continues to benefit from the changes we are helping to drive in the overall restaurant industry."
On capital allocation, he said it is becoming increasingly confident in its decision to invest behind market leadership here with healthy unit economics.
"As a result, we are updating the upper bound of our potential investments in this category to $400 million cash over the next two years," Goyal added.
On the issue of investing in more companies, Goyal said Zomato will continue making minority equity investments in businesses that will accelerate the growth of its business.
In the third quarter, Zomato had made minority equity investments in UrbanPiper ($5 million) and Adonmo ($15 million).
Goyal said the company is currently well capitalised with around $1.7 billion cash on its balance sheet, and it doesn't envisage raising cash in the foreseeable future.
