ETERNAL

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Ujjaini Dutta

BENGALURU, June 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India's Zepto has disrupted the distribution edge held by fast-moving consumer goods companies including Unilever ULVR.L and Nestle NESN.S, and amped up competition for the country's food delivery duopoly. Yet the startup's rush to debut in Mumbai as soon as July at a time when local equity markets are battered reveals its financial desperation: losses are deepening and venture capital funding is increasingly hard to come by. Accepting a valuation markdown will be the price of its admission into public markets.

The 5-year-old company founded by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra aims to raise just shy of $1 billion to fund its mission of speedily delivering daily essentials and groceries to customers' doorsteps. There's plenty of demand for its services that boast a 12-minute median delivery time: Zepto's revenue grew 103% from the previous year to 226 billion rupees ($2.39 billion) in the 12 months to the end of March 2026.

Yet losses are mounting as it shovels money into expanding its dark store network and acquiring customers. Zepto's net loss widened 26% to 59 billion rupees for the full financial year. It lacks a profitable core business to cushion its bottom line, unlike food delivery companies $7 billion Prosus-backed PRX.AS Swiggy SWIG.NS and rival Zomato. Nor does it have a rich parent like Tata group, owner of grocer BigBasket, which is also vying to provide instant gratification to affluent Indians.

The biggest problem is Zepto's emptying war chest. Take the company's total cash balance of 56.80 billion rupees ($600 million) at end of March, strip out lease liabilities of 27.1 billion rupees and net cash shrinks to 29.7 billion rupees, implying enough to sustain just three quarters of operating activities or as little as five months using a more conservative calculation of its liquidity.

The market won't support a rich valuation, warns Satish Meena, founder of e-commerce consultancy Datum Intelligence, especially with two stronger listed rivals. Swiggy, whose stock languishes 34% below its 2024 IPO price, trades at 2.5 times this year's estimated sales, per LSEG. On that multiple Zepto would be worth $5.9 billion, less than the $7 billion valuation it achieved in its October funding round and well short of the up to $10 billion touted in local media. About half the workforce leaves Zepto every year; executives can only hope any new investors it attracts stick around for longer.

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CONTEXT NEWS

India's Zepto is selling new shares worth up to 80.1 billion rupees ($837 million) in its initial public offering, the quick commerce company's prospectus published on June 8 showed. Existing investors including ​Nexus Ventures and Contrary ZEP Holdings will sell up to 113.5 million shares in the offering.

Zepto plans to use proceeds from the IPO to expand its network of dark stores, invest in technology and cloud infrastructure as well as ​to fund acquisitions. The firm was valued at $7 billion in October, when it raised $450 million.

Zepto is targeting a July listing, the Economic Times reported on June 9, citing people aware of the matter.

(Editing by Una Galani; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

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June 10 (Reuters) - Eternal Ltd ETEA.NS:

• ETERNAL - RECEIVES TAX DEMAND ORDER OF 64.9 MILLION RUPEES FOR APRIL 2023-MARCH 2024

• ETERNAL - GETS TAX ORDER WITH INTEREST PAYMENT OF 25 MILLION RUPEES, PENALTY OF 6.5 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE89hC9y

Further company coverage: ETEA.NS

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May 11 (Reuters) - Shares of Indian food delivery major Swiggy SWIG.NS fell as much as 6.8% on Monday, as slowing growth in its quick-commerce business and intensifying competition overshadowed a narrower fourth-quarter loss and robust growth in food delivery.

Analysts said investor concerns centred on Swiggy losing quick-commerce market share to rival Eternal's ETEA.NS Blinkit, while competition from players such as Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart remains intense.

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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Updates with details throughout

By Urvi Dugar and Devika Madhusudhanan Nair

May 8 (Reuters) - India's Swiggy SWIG.NS on Friday reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss as its core food delivery business posted its strongest growth in nearly four years, driven by a sharp rise in orders and users as the firm focuses on affordability to sustain demand.

Food delivery is "defying scepticism around a sector slowdown, with meaningfully better margins than a year ago," CEO Sriharsha Majety said, citing how the segment has crossed 10 billion rupees ($105.84 million) in annual adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).

Swiggy said affordability would be the biggest driver of growth in its food delivery business, helped by offerings such as its 99-Store and affordable restaurant marketplace Toing.

Rival Eternal ETEA.NS, which reported results last month, also said curated offerings and meals priced under 250 rupees led to the growth of its food delivery business during the quarter.

RISING ORDERS

Gross order value in food delivery, a key industry metric reflecting the total value of app orders and subscription fees, rose about 23% to 90.05 billion rupees.

Quick commerce arm Instamart posted a 68.8% jump in gross order value to 78.81 billion rupees, with contribution margin-revenue remaining after variable costs- improving 65 basis points sequentially to negative 1.8%.

India's fast‑growing quick‑commerce sector has become an $11.5 billion market within five years, changing how Indians shop with apps allowing groceries and electronics to be home delivered within minutes.

The crowded space pits Swiggy against Eternal, global players like Amazon < AMZN.O > and Walmart < WMT.O >-backed Flipkart and local rivals such as Reliance < RELI.NS >, and Zepto.

"By actively pivoting away from unprofitable low average order value (AOV) consumers and related orders, we have significantly changed the order mix by halving their share during this period," the company said.

The company's consolidated loss narrowed by about a quarter to 8 billion rupees for the March quarter while revenue from operations rose nearly 4% for the same period.

($1 = 94.4800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Writing by Abinaya V; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)

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** Eternal ETEA.NS rises as much as 4.9% to 265.40 rupees; set to snap four sessions of losses

** Q4 margins for co's core food delivery and quick-commerce business improve as concerns over growth slowdown pause despite elevated competition

** Despite fears Iran war-driven fuel shock could hit delivery volumes, co says margins should remain intact unless fuel prices spike sharply

** Co sets targets of $1 billion in adjusted EBITDA from its consumer businesses by FY29, which Nomura believes is achievable through disciplined execution, focus on profitability

** Blinkit's growth slowed as order frequency, ticket sizes fell even as margins held; co sees segment to grow more than 60% annually

** Stock rated "buy" on avg; median PT is 360 rupees, per data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, ETEA down 9.4%

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru)

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** Shares of India's Eternal ETEA.NS fall 1.6% to 251.15 rupees ahead of fourth quarter results

** Analysts on an average expect revenue to rise 3x y/y to 182.81 billion rupees ($1.94 billion) - data compiled by LSEG

** HDFC Securities expects food delivery and quick commerce businesses to clock a 18% and 100% y/y growth, respectively

** Jefferies sees Blinkit' s net order value to grow - a key metric to track underlying demand - in the low double digits, with EBITDA continuing to improve quarter on quarter

** Recent LPG shortages have led to menu limits, but volumes are largely unaffected so far; however, margins could come under pressure from higher fulfilment costs - Institutional research

** ETEA rated "buy" on average by 31 analysts, median PT at 370 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** YTD stock down 11.34%

($1 = 94.4200 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra and Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru)

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By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, April 23 (Reuters) - India's biggest food delivery app Zomato has agreed to drop a contract term that penalized restaurants for offering cheaper meals to walk-in diners, a company source said, after opposition from eateries who said the policy undermined their pricing decisions.

Eternal's ETEA.NS Zomato app has 24 million consumers and 300,000 listed restaurants. As demand for food delivery boomed, Eternal shares have more than doubled since their 2021 listing and the company is valued at nearly $26 billion.

For years, Zomato has had a "charges for price disparity" clause in its contracts, which allowed it to fine restaurants if their eat-in or their own delivery prices were lower than those listed on the Zomato app. Zomato's contracts also stated that it could use mystery shopping, or secretive restaurant visits, among other tactics to check that outlets were not undercutting the app in price, according to contracts seen by Reuters.

The clause was never enforced but has been dropped now, a Zomato source said on Thursday, without explaining the rationale for the decision.

Reuters is first to report Zomato's decision, as a review of publicly available Zomato policy for restaurants also showed the clause has been dropped.

Zomato did not respond to Reuters queries.

With players like Domino's DPZ.O and KFC 3420.T competing with millions of restaurants in India, the country's $94 billion food services market is set to be worth $153 billion by 2031, Mordor Intelligence estimates.

ANTITRUST RISK OF CLAUSE

According to Zomato's contracts, it would charge a fine equal to "three times the differential amount" per order. This was opposed by the National Restaurant Association of India as it restricted their pricing ability, said Sagar J. Daryani, president of the group that represents over 500,000 outlets.

"It’s our product and should be our pricing. We appreciate their assurance that price parity will no longer be enforced," Daryani told Reuters.

Five lawyers and one former Indian antitrust official who reviewed the clause in the Zomato agreement said it was prone to hurt competition and could have faced scrutiny from regulators.

They referred to how a complaint by a hotels body led to a 2022 decision by India's antitrust watchdog which asked travel booking websites MakeMyTrip and GoIbibo to remove clauses that prohibited hotels from offering lower rates to other agents.

"The clause has resemblance to those found to be in violation in India hotel booking business ... though similar clauses have faced scrutiny world over, the company would have needed to provide an objective justification to defend it," said Rahul Goel, antitrust partner at India's AnantLaw.

An Indian antitrust investigation in 2024 also found Zomato and rival Swiggy breached competition laws with their business practices favouring select restaurants, Reuters has reported. The companies deny any wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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By Kritika Lamba, Aditya Kalra and Chandini Monnappa

BENGALURU/NEW DELHI, April 17 (Reuters) - Walmart-owned WMT.O Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart plans to sell movie and concert tickets in India, moving into a fast-growing space driven by consumers spending more on entertainment, two sources familiar with the matter said.

India's live events and ticketing market has gathered pace over the last year, as demand for large-scale concerts, international tours and sporting spectacles surges, drawing tens of thousands of fans across major cities, led by the country's lucrative cricket calendar.

One of the sources said Flipkart was aiming to launch into the market in May, pitting it against Accel-backed BookMyShow and Zomato's ETEA.NS District to take advantage of rising disposable incomes and wider smartphone use in the world's most populous nation.

Flipkart is also preparing to pilot food delivery from May, the second source said, adding that timelines could change as plans evolve.

The company did not respond to a request seeking comment.

Flipkart has been laying the groundwork for an initial public offering in India, including shifting its holding company back to the country, reshuffling senior management and strengthening business units such as fashion arm Myntra.

India's online ticketing and food delivery leaders have scaled up through heavy spending and deep discounts. Flipkart's plans would take it into fiercely competitive, low-margin sectors dominated by entrenched rivals.

Years of investor-funded expansion have left India's food delivery market dominated by Zomato and Swiggy, with smaller rivals squeezed out and profitability still elusive despite strong urban demand.

Founded in 2007 as an online bookseller, Flipkart competes with Amazon AMZN.O in India's growing e-commerce market. It was valued at about $37 billion in 2024, when Alphabet's GOOGL.O Google bought a $350 million stake, following Walmart's $16 billion controlling acquisition six years earlier.

(Reporting by Kritika Lamba, Aditya Kalra and Chandini Monnappa; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Elaine Hardcastle)

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** Eternal ETEA.NS rises ~4.4%, peer Swiggy SWIG.NS gains as much as 5% in broad market rally on hopes Iran war could end soon

** ETEA, SWIG lost 7.03% and 13.82%, respectively, in March on concerns over LPG shortages, elevated crude prices due to Iran war

** HDFC Securities upgrades ETEA to "buy" from "add", raises FY27, FY2028 profit estimates

** Says volume impact due to LPG shortages remains minimal

** Adds minimum orders for discounted sales raised, aiding profitability; says Blinkit's execution, market share gains likely to improve

** Reiterates "buy" on SWIG; calls it a steal after recent drop

** YTD, ETEA sheds 14%, SWIG slips 31%; Nifty 50 .NSEI falls 12.5%

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

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** Shares of Eternal ETEA.NS jump about 8% this week, snaps four-week losing streak

** Gains driven by a three-day rebound earlier in the week, supported by improving market sentiment and value buying

** Online delivery services firm's stock rose 1.51% to 232.19 rupees on Friday, Nifty 50 .NSEI up 0.34%

** Broader Indian markets rebound following a sharp selloff in the previous session when ETEA lost nearly 6%

** ETEA rose 5.7% on Tuesday, its biggest single-day pct gain since July 22, 2025, after JM Financial said recent correction may be overstated and quick delivery service unit Blinkit continues to drive growth

** YTD, stock down nearly 18% vs .NSEI drop of about 11%

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru)

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** Shares of India's Eternal ETEA.NS jump 5.8% to 234.92 rupees

** Extend gains after snapping an 18-session losing streak on Monday, the longest such streak since listing in July 2021

** JM Financial maintains "buy" and says recent correction driven by competition and macro concerns may be overstated

** Brokerage says Eternal's quick commerce platform Blinkit is driving growth with improving margins, while food delivery remains resilient despite competitive intensity

** Stock rated "buy" on avg by 31 analysts, median PT at 380 rupees -- data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, stock down ~20%

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru)

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By Praveen Paramasivam

CHENNAI, March 12 (Reuters) - Indian households are rushing to buy electric induction stoves, draining stocks online and in stores, amid fears of a potential cooking gas shortage tied to the Middle East conflict.

India, the world's ​second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), has invoked emergency powers to boost supplies for households even as availability tightens for commercial users including canteens, hostels and restaurants.

Meanwhile, consumers are buying electric cooking appliances as a precaution, with some households worried about refill delays and higher prices.

Checks by Reuters on Thursday showed several induction stove models were unavailable on Amazon AMZN.O, Walmart-backed WMT.O Flipkart, Eternal's ETEA.NS Blinkit and Zepto, while some offline chains said fresh supplies were still days away.

Induction stove sales on Amazon India have jumped more than 30-fold, while rice cookers and electric pressure cookers are up fourfold, a company spokesperson said.

Kitchen appliances maker TTK Prestige TTKL.NS said demand for induction stoves had surged far beyond supply.

"There is a threefold surge (in demand)," CEO Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan told Reuters.

The company has raised its production capacity to 100% from about 70% before the start of the war, and increased staffing by roughly 15%. It also plans to raise prices of induction stoves in the June quarter to offset any higher costs.

Induction stoves accounted for about a tenth of TTK's 25.30 billion rupees ($274.52 million) standalone revenue in 2024–25.

Online shopping platforms also showed models from Butterfly CROP.NS, Havells India HVEL.NS and Bajaj Electricals BJEL.NS marked as "currently unavailable".

Google Trends showed search interest for induction stoves hit a record high on March 12, while some restaurant chains, including Wow Momo and California Burrito, said they were exploring induction stoves as a contingency plan.

Anand Rathi analyst Manish Valecha said large kitchen appliance makers with domestic assembly and strong distribution, including TTK Prestige, Butterfly and Stove Kraft STOE.NS, are best placed to benefit from the surge in induction cooktop demand. But reliance on imported components could pose supply risks if the spike persists, he added.

TTK Prestige will switch from sea shipments to airlifting components sourced from China and Southeast Asia, absorbing higher costs to ensure supplies if disruptions persist, Vijayaraghavan said.

The Middle East conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf, raising costs and tightening oil and gas supplies from the Middle East. O/R

On Thursday, the Suezmax tanker Shenlong reached Mumbai with Saudi crude, becoming the first crude carrier to arrive in India from the Middle East since the war between Iran and the United States and Israel erupted in late February, LSEG data showed.

($1 = 92.1625 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Leroy Leo)

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Feb 17 (Reuters) - Eternal Ltd ETEA.NS:

• ETERNAL LIMITED AND OPENAI ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC COLLABORATION TO ADVANCE AI CAPABILITIES ACROSS ETERNAL'S BUSINESSES

Further company coverage: ETEA.NS

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By Chandini Monnappa and Praveen Paramasivam

MUMBAI, Feb 16 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries RELI.NS retail unit is piloting a search-and-discovery platform in a bid to more closely integrate its store and online shopping experiences, a top executive said on Monday.

Reliance Retail is the country's largest retailer, operating 19,340 stores nationwide and selling everything from electronics and apparel to groceries to more than 349 million customers.

The company is piloting the platform at its apparel stores such as Trends and Yousta, and plans to roll it out at its retail chain Smart Bazaar later this year, said Damodar Mall, chief executive officer of Grocery Retail at Reliance Retail.

Customers can scan a QR code at stores to use the platform, which then helps them discover and search for products tailored to their preferences, Mall said on the sidelines of the Retail Leadership Summit in Mumbai.

He did not disclose an investment amount or other operational details for the new platform.

India's retail sector faces intensifying competition from online shopping platforms such as Amazon's AMZN.O India unit and Walmart WMT.N-backed Flipkart, while quick commerce firms such as Swiggy's SWIG.NS Instamart, Eternal's ETEA.NS Blinkit and Zepto have been eating up market share rapidly.

Reliance's online grocery delivery service JioMart expanded to compete in the 10-minute delivery segment in 2025.

Festive discounting, investment in hyperlocal delivery and a one-off impact from India's new labour code trimmed core margins at the retail business to 8% in the third quarter from 8.6% a year earlier.

The pace of change in India's retail sector remains intense, Mall said, though it is unfolding against the backdrop of a still-expanding consumption market, which allows room for shifts in market share without constraining overall growth, he added.

(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa and Praveen Paramasivam in Mumbai; Writing by Surbhi Misra and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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Feb 6 (Reuters) - Eternal Ltd ETEA.NS:

• ETERNAL LTD - ZOMATO NETHERLANDS B.V HAS BEEN DISSOLVED

Source text: ID:nnAZN4SA5RA

Further company coverage: ETEA.NS

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Feb 5 (Reuters) - Eternal Ltd ETEA.NS:

• RECEIVES GST DEMAND INCLUDING INTEREST, PENALTY 17.5 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSE4VyCWh

Further company coverage: ETEA.NS

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** Shares of India's Eternal ETEA.NS jump 4.6% to 285.15 rupees

** Jefferies adds Eternal to its model portfolio, citing a major boost to investor sentiment following the U.S.–India trade deal

** U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal that cuts tariffs on Indian exports to the U.S. to 18% from an effective 50%

** Jefferies says deal addresses key overhang for foreign investors, with India underweight positioning among emerging-market funds and $34 bln in FPI outflows over the past 16 months

** Brokerage says improved trade visibility could support the rupee and act as a positive trigger for FPI flows

** Jefferies replaces Godrej Consumer Products GOCP.NS with Eternal, citing strong growth and margin improvement across quick commerce and food delivery

** ETEA closed flat in 2025, stock down ~2% so far in 2026

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru)

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Adds details throughout

Jan 29 (Reuters) - India’s Swiggy posted a smaller sequential loss and reiterated that it aims to hit a key profitability metric in the first quarter of next year, driven by strong growth in its Instamart quick‑commerce business.

India’s quick‑commerce sector - which delivers everything from milk to mobile phones within minutes - has drawn heavy investment as companies race to expand in the fast‑growing segment.

Swiggy posted a consolidated loss of 10.65 billion rupees ($115.8 million) for the quarter ended December 31, compared with 10.92 billion rupees in the previous quarter, though losses remained wider than the 7.99 billion rupees it reported a year earlier.

The company said it remains confident of achieving contribution-margin break-even - when revenue from each order covers its direct fulfilment costs - in the first quarter of fiscal 2027.

Contribution margin for its quick‑commerce business improved 9 basis points sequentially to negative 2.5%.

Swiggy’s Instamart, Eternal’s Blinkit and Zepto remain the sector’s leading players, vying for market share through steep discounts, subsidised deliveries and rapid warehouse expansion.

The race has pressured profitability at Eternal ETEA.NS and widened losses at Swiggy, which said last year that absolute losses would begin to decline gradually.

Instamart’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins improved 65 basis points from the prior quarter to a negative 11.4%.

Quick‑commerce revenue surged 76% year‑on‑year, driven by a similar rise in net order value, helping lift overall revenue 54% to 61.48 billion rupees.

Swiggy's losses narrowed largely due to improved network density, with a higher store count in key markets reducing its cost per order.

The company opened 34 “dark stores” - compact warehouses in densely populated neighborhoods - in the third quarter, taking its total to 1,136. It had added 40 dark stores in the second quarter.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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** Shares of Eternal ETEA.NS, Indian online delivery firm, rise 5.1% to 266.90 rupees apiece; set to snap three-session losing streak

** Last week, Co posted sequential rise in Q3 profit and said founder Deepinder Goyal will step down as CEO and MD

** Jefferies says ETEA fell 10% post Q3 results on investors concerns over leadership change and Blinkit's profitability

** However, Blinkit has consistently delivered best‑in‑class unit economics (incl. in 3Q), and hence, we do not see any concern on this front, Jefferies says

** Jefferies maintains "buy" rating on stock; PT at 480 rupees- second highest among 31 analysts tracking ETEA

** Despite Goyal's transition, he remains closely engaged in strategy, culture, and governance at Eternal, ensuring continuity - Jefferies

** Avg rating on stock is "buy"; median PT of 390 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; Ph no. +91 9590227221;))

** Shares of Eternal ETEA.NS, Indian online delivery firm, fall 4.44% to a six-month low of 263.50 rupees apiece

** Stock down 8.4% for the week so far, its worst week since March 2025

** On Wednesday, Co said founder Deepinder Goyal will step down as chief executive officer and managing director, effective February 1; Blinkit head Albinder Dhindsa will take the helm

** Co also reported a 73% jump in quarterly profit

** More than 43 million shares exchange hands today vs 37.4 miliion 30-day avg vol

** Avg rating of 31 analysts is "buy"; median PT of 390 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; Ph no. +91 9590227221;))

Rewrites throughout; Adds analyst comments in paragraph 4,10, CFO comment in 7

By Komal Salecha

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Shares of India's Eternal ETEA.NS erased early gains on Thursday as concerns over the long-term profitability of its quick-commerce unit Blinkit amid intensifying competition outweighed strong results.

The stock lost as much as 2.6% and was down 0.8% as of 12:20 a.m. IST. It hit a high of 8% in premarket trading.

The company, formerly Zomato, reported a 73% rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday.

"While the results are good, there is fear whether it will be able to keep up with profitability," said Rahul Jain from Dolat Capital.

Analysts said risks remain around Blinkit's long-term profitability. Blinkit has become Eternal's biggest revenue engine in recent quarters, fuelled by a boom in India's $11.5 billion quick-commerce market, where rivals race to deliver everything from iPhones to milk in minutes.

Eternal said that growth could weigh on margins in the near-term. It also said founder Deepinder Goyal would step down as chief executive to be replaced by Blinkit head Albinder Dhindsa, while adding that the once cash-hungry unit had turned profitable.

"In the short term, we want to take the right decisions for the business, even if that means taking a hit to margins," Eternal CFO Akshant Goyal said in a post-earnings call, but added that the company was not signalling such an impact in the very next quarter.

Blinkit leads India's quick-commerce market with a 48% share, ahead of Swiggy's SWIG.NS Instamart at 24% and Zepto KIRK.NS at 22%, data for 2025 from Datum Intelligence showed.

The market is projected to more than triple to about $40 billion by 2030, underscoring the high-stakes race for scale and dominance.

"The risk is that the market leader could be drawn into a dogfight too, with lower minimum order values and higher discounts," Morgan Stanley said in a note.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon and Komal Salecha in Bengaluru; Writing by Chandini Monnappa, Editing by Sonia Cheema and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

(([email protected];))

Updates

** Shares of India's online food and grocery delivery firm Eternal ETEA.NS rise nearly 5% to 282 rupees ahead of third-quarter results, snapping a three-day losing run

** ETEA on course for best day since July 22, 2025

** On avg, analysts expect co's Q3 revenue to rise almost three fold y/y to 162.12 billion rupees ($1.8 billion) for the quarter ended December 31 - data compiled by LSEG

** Analysts on avg expect co's Q3 net profit to more than double to 1.39 bln rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** Elara Capital says Blinkit’s losses may drop by 18% q/q

** Goldman Sachs expects net order value growth to stay strong despite moderation, and does not see structural issues in the business

** Eternal rated 'buy' on avg by 31 analysts with median PT at 400 rupees; rival Swiggy SWIG.NS rated 'buy' on avg by 25 analysts, PT at 490 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** In 2025, ETEA was flat vs SWIG's 29% decline

($1 = 91.1000 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra and Komal Salecha in Bengaluru)

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Jan 20 - By Ira Dugal, Editor Financial News, with global Reuters staff

Reliance Industries RELI.NS has had a rough start to the year, with a rare share-price slide in January and weaker-than-expected earnings, highlighting the pressures building across some of its key businesses.

What is the outlook for the stock of India's most valuable company? That's our focus this week. Write to us at [email protected]

And, India plans to open up the defence sector to larger foreign investment. Scroll down for that Reuters exclusive report.

THIS WEEK IN ASIA

*Japan's snap election and tax pledge keep nation's finances in spotlight

*Indonesia's rupiah hits record low on central bank independence worries

*China curbs ‘flash boys’ access to exchange data, sources say

*As US orders fade, Chinese salespeople face tough grind in new markets

*Dozens missing after massive Karachi mall fire, 21 killed

TESTED BY GEOPOLITICS

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance, which has a market value of 19.12 trillion rupees ($210.42 billion), has slumped about 10% so far in 2026, a rare early-year drop that has weighed on the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI, which is down roughly 2%. The last time the stock dropped more in any January was in 2011.

The fall, including a 3% decline after the company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings, reflects complications in its refining business due to geopolitical tensions, intensifying competition in its retail operations, and investor caution ahead of the planned listing of its telecoms unit.

The company faces "headwinds" from loss of Russian crude in its export-focused refinery and higher freight costs in its core oil-to-chemicals business, Jefferies said in a January 16 note.

But it could potentially resume purchases of Venezuelan oil, defraying the loss of Russian barrels, the brokerage said.

Reliance cut imports of Russian oil by 32.4% in December, the lowest level since February 2024, under pressure from Western sanctions, data analysed by Reuters journalist Nidhi Verma showed. The company's Russian imports are likely to be low in January too. Click here for that story.

The company has said it is in talks with the U.S. to permit purchases of oil from Venezuela.

Despite these challenges, the business continues to report strong financials.

Factors working in its favour include strong volume growth and fuel cracks - the difference between the price of refined products and the crude used to produce them - Mumbai-based brokerage BOB Caps said.

Fuel retailing volumes via the Jio-BP joint venture are also expanding, it added.

RETAIL REVENUE GROWTH LAGS

Where the earnings disappointed most was in the retail business, Reliance Retail, which was dragged down by India's shifting consumer preferences.

Reliance Retail reported a 9% growth in net revenue, lower than the 13% for competitor Avenue Supermarts AVEU.NS, and blamed this partly on a shift in festival dates and a demerger of its consumer products division.

Its margins also declined due to discounts offered in the festival season and investments made in quick commerce.

India's fast-changing consumer market has seen attention shift from traditional stores to online shopping and now quick commerce where deliveries within minutes have sparked opportunity and risks.

The company told analysts this business is already margin- positive as Reliance leverages its extensive store network to deliver electronics, fashion, and groceries, creating a unique omnichannel advantage.

The quick-commerce business, where Zomato, run by Eternal ETEA.NS, Swiggy SWIG.NS and Walmart's WMT.O Flipkart are big players, recently came under fire for promoting 10-minute deliveries that critics have argued put delivery staff at risk.

Read here to catch up on the controversy.

Jefferies analysts also red-flagged Reliance's fast-moving consumer goods business where too many brands may mean it is spreading itself "too thin".

While the retail business seems to be some distance away from a listing, the public offering of the telecoms unit Jio Platforms appears imminent.

The government has given the green light for a minimum float of 2.5% for a public listing, clearing the way for large IPOs including Jio's.

Despite the pressures, analysts still see upside to the Reliance Industries stock in 2026, with only 2 of 34 analysts on LSEG listing it as a sell. The median price target on the stock is 1,700 rupees per share, a 20% upside from current levels.

MARKET MATTERS

A ruling by India's top court in a tax case related to U.S. investment firm Tiger Global's sale of shares in Flipkart to Walmart in 2018 has spooked global investors who have poured $180 billion into India via the tax haven of Mauritius.

Read details of the judgement here and don't miss this analysis on its implications for investors.

The ruling comes at a time when India has seen a sharp drop in portfolio and strategic investments from overseas, a decline that the market regulator is trying to reverse through a series of steps.

THIS WEEK'S MUST-READ

India plans to make it much easier for foreign firms to invest in defence companies, Reuters journalists Nikunj Ohri and Sarita Chaganti Singh reported.

Foreign firms may be permitted to pick up 74% in Indian firms with government approval, and tough conditions related to technology transfers may be lifted.

Read the details here.

($1 = 90.6663 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ira Dugal; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

(([email protected]; +91-9833024892;))

** Shares of Eternal ETEA.NS rise as much as 4.22%, the biggest intra-day rise in nearly six months, to 297.30 rupees apiece; last up 3.2%

** Foreign headroom in food and grocery delivery platforms owner rises to 26.8% from shareholding pattern data released Monday after hours

** Higher foreign headroom is likely to expand potential investor base, may spur hopes of increased MSCI weightage at February review, analysts say

** ETEA currently carries half weight on MSCI indexes due to low foreign headroom below 25% threshold

** Could now reach 100% MSCI weight as foreign headroom climbs, potentially bringing passive inflows, adds analysts

** Avg rating of 31 analysts is "buy"; median PT of 400 rupees implies 35% upside - LSEG data

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Jan 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India is piling into consumer giants’ basket of troubles. Unilever ULVR.L and Nestlé NESN.S are losing pricing power in the world’s fifth-largest economy amid growing competition from nimble upstarts. It’s an unwelcome headache for the groups that are trying to revive their more established markets in Europe and the U.S. With no easy fixes, the problem may require expensive remedies.

Consumer titans were once synonymous with boringly predictable earnings. But a recent bout of management churn and intense competition has made them about as predictable as the start-ups they are now battling for market share. Last February, $140 billion Unilever replaced its CEO Hein Schumacher with its finance chief Fernando Fernandez to accelerate its growth plans. It also grappled with rising commodity prices and spun out its ice cream unit at a disappointing valuation.

Nestlé is enduring an even trickier time. The $240 billion Kitkat maker is on its third CEO in less than three years and is dealing with a decline in sales in Europe and the U.S. These factors have weighed on the groups’ share prices which are flat versus the same period last year, underperforming Europe’s Stoxx 600 .STOXX which is up nearly 20% in the same period.

In ordinary times, these groups could rely on their Indian businesses to compensate. Indeed, historically they performed better than their parents’ businesses in developed markets. At its 2016 peak, sales at Nestlé India NEST.NS grew nearly 16%, eight times the pace of the Swiss group’s European business and four times that of its Americas unit. As recently as 2021, Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS was growing turnover at a punchy 18% as Europe and the Americas only managed under 5%.

But those dynamics are changing. During the year ended March 2025 sales at HUL grew just 2% , down from double digits two years earlier. Meanwhile, Nestlé ’s Indian business grew 1% in 2024. That run rate means India can barely contribute much more to these groups' top lines than it currently does - 2% and 11% for Nestlé and Unilever respectively.

More concerning for investors, however, is the effect this is having on these groups' profitability. EBITDA margins of Hindustan Unilever and Nestlé India are off pandemic-era peaks and could remain below those levels at least until 2027, according to forecasts compiled by Visible Alpha.

The bosses of these businesses blame the recent weakness on rising commodity prices and high inflation which, coupled with stagnating incomes in the aftermath of Covid, have diminished Indians’ purchasing power.

The danger for investors is the decline may intensify. Affluent urban Indians are increasingly shopping for essentials on e-commerce platforms Eternal ETEA.NS and Swiggy SWIG.NS, which use a network of mini warehouses to deliver everything from milk to umbrellas in 10 minutes. These apps enable challenger brands like Honasa Consumer’s Mamaearth and Investment Corporation of Dubai-backed snackmaker Slurrp Farm to display their brands alongside legacy names like Sunsilk and KitKat, robbing Unilever and Nestlé of their storied distribution edge.

Big groups also missed the boat on premiumisation. Indian consumers have become aspirational. That’s birthed whole categories from grooming products to pancake mixes that Unilever, Nestlé and their large rivals are struggling to compete in.

Amid these forces, consumer group boardrooms face two unpalatable choices. They can jack up prices to protect margins but are likely to lose market share in the hypercompetitive Indian market. Alternatively, they can sacrifice margins to boost growth but that means fewer spoils to share with investors.

The first option hardly seems feasible as smaller and more agile rivals are only likely to take more market share from larger groups. Meanwhile, demand for private labels is growing which will put even more pressure on pricing. For now, investors may have to accept lower margins as Unilever and Nestlé try to protect their businesses and invest more heavily in new products.

The risks are plain to see in these groups' valuations. HUL now trades at 47 times forward earnings, down from 65 times in 2021 and lagging supermarket chain Avenue Supermarts' AVEU.NS 69 times.

For now, there are no easy fixes. Launching their own quick commerce offerings makes little sense for consumer giants as users of the existing apps are proving increasingly sticky. A less immediate but more effective way to counter the loss of pricing power is to rejig their product mix. HUL and Nestlé will have to ensure their presence across categories and locations so that consumers rising up the value chain choose their brands over upstarts. A bigger investment in agile AI-enabled tracking of sales trends at mom-and-pop retailers could help with that.

Acquiring fast-growing brands is another option. HUL's 2025 purchase of personal care brand Minimalist valued its target at 9 times its trailing sales, on par with its own multiple. But buying one of India's top online platforms is out of the question: Eternal and Swiggy are delivery service-based companies that would be a clunky fit in these sprawling manufacturing businesses.

Businesses may also need to rethink marketing in a country where close to two-thirds of the population is under the age of 35 and shopping choices are increasingly based on influencer recommendations. HUL spent 10% of its revenue on sales and marketing in the year to March 2025, while its personal-care rival Honasa shelled out 57%. If the Unilever unit raised marketing spend by 10%, its EBITDA margin would go down 87 basis points, Breakingviews calculations based on Visible Alpha estimates show.

To be sure, all these options involve squeezing margins in the short term to ensure staying power in a crowded market. For now, consumer giants will have to add India to their growing list of fixer upper projects.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X

(Editing by Aimee Donnellan; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]))

** Shares of Eternal ETEA.NS jump 3% to 293 rupees, top pct gainer on largely flat benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI index .BO

** Goldman Sachs keeps "buy" rating, trims PT to 375 rupees from 390 rupees on co, the parent of food delivery platform Zomato and quick-commerce Blinkit

** Says recent 14.6% Oct-Dec selloff vs 6.2% Nifty 50 gain reflects "elevated competition narratives, quick-commerce slowdown expectations"

** "We disagree with the extent of bearishness" being priced into ETEA - note

** Stock, on an avg, rated "buy" by 31 analysts; median PT 400 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** ETEA unchanged in 2025 vs rival Swiggy's SWIG.NS 29% decline

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Eternal Ltd ETEA.NS:

• ETERNAL LTD - COMPANY RECEIVES ORDERS CONFIRMING GST DEMAND OF 167.2 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE6mhQhj

Further company coverage: ETEA.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of Eternal ETEA.NS fall 2% to 277.10 rupees

** ETEA's quick commerce company Blinkit's chief financial officer Vipin Kapooria has resigned, Economic Times reports citing sources

** Kapooria joined Blinkit in September 2024

** YTD, ETEA down 0.3% vs 9.5% gains in Nifty 50 index .NSEI

(Reporting by Vijay Malkar)

(([email protected];))

Adds analyst comment in paragraphs 5 and 9, details throughout

By Vivek Kumar M and Kashish Tandon

Oct 14 (Reuters) - LG Electronics India LGEL.NS surged 50.4% in its trading debut on Tuesday and notched a valuation of $13.07 billion, eclipsing its South Korean parent's market capitalisation, as investors piled into the country's most bid-for IPO since 2008.

Shares of the Indian arm of LG Electronics 066570.KS made a strong debut on the National Stock Exchange of India, opening at 1,710.10 rupees and rising to 1,714.90 rupees, well above the issue price of 1,140 rupees.

The debut valued the company above its $8.73 billion target and its South Korean parent's roughly $9 billion market cap.

It also put the firm ahead of its India-listed peers such as Whirlpool WHIR.NS, Voltas VOLT.NS, and Havells HVEL.NS, which are valued between $1.7 billion and $10.4 billion.

The company's listing performance was the best for a billion-dollar IPO in India since 2021, and comes in the midst of what is India's second-busiest quarter on record for IPOs, with WeWork India WEWO.NS and Tata Capital TATC.NS posting lacklustre debuts in recent days.

"After a long time, we're seeing a genuinely strong IPO in the consumer space — solid fundamentals, reasonable valuations and sector-leading growth prospects," said Dhiraj Relli, managing director and CEO of HDFC Securities.

LG Electronics, India's second-biggest appliance maker, whipped up strong demand at the bidding stage. Investors snapped up its $1.3 billion IPO within hours of opening, with bids worth a staggering $50 billion.

The investor euphoria made it the most subscribed billion-dollar offering in nearly two decades, eclipsing interest seen in high-profile listings such as Life Insurance Corp of India’s LIFI.NS $2.7 billion issue in 2022, and Paytm's $2.5 billion debut and Zomato's ETEA.NS $1.3 billion flotation in 2021.

At the share sale, qualified institutional buyers bid 166.5-fold their allotted quota, while non-institutional and retail investors subscribed 22.4 times and 3.54 times, respectively, according to exchange data.

"Institutional investors are unlikely to be satisfied with the current 5 billion–6 billion rupee allocation and will be forced to participate aggressively in the listing and beyond to achieve reasonable sizing," Relli added.

($1 = 88.7680 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon, Vivek Kumar, Chandini Monnappa and Mridula Kumar; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]))

** Goldman Sachs hikes Blinkit parent Eternal ETEA.NS PT to 360 rupees from 340 rupees; keeps "buy" rating

** Expects Blinkit store count to double over next 2-3 years, says meaningful market share expansion not reflected in current price

** Blinkit's FY27 Net Order Value (NOV) projections are higher than earlier estimates with EBITDA break-even anticipated by Dec 2025, signaling strong growth

** ETEA's quick commerce and food delivery segments are expected to accelerate Y/Y in 2Q FY26; food delivery NOV growth could reach 20% Y/Y by March 2026

** Follows J.P.Morgan PT hike to street-high 390 rupees last week

** ETEA rated "buy" on avg, median PT 329 rupees- data compiled by LSEG

** Stock up nearly 20% YTD

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar)

(([email protected]))