Eternal increases ad spends by 16% to Rs 937 crore in Q3 FY26

Eternal, formerly known as Zomato and the parent company of Blinkit, significantly increased its advertising and sales promotion spends in the December quarter, signalling an aggressive growth push across its food delivery and quick commerce businesses even as profitability improved sequentially.

The company spent Rs 937 crore on advertising and sales promotion in Q3 FY26, marking a 16.3% quarter-on-quarter increase from Rs 806 crore in the September quarter. On a year-on-year basis, ad spends surged 79.8% from Rs 521 crore in the December 2024 quarter.

The stepped-up brand investments coincided with strong topline growth. Revenue from operations rose 20.0% sequentially to Rs 16,315 crore in the December quarter, compared with Rs 13,590 crore in Q2 FY26. Year-on-year, revenue more than tripled, jumping 201.9% from Rs 5,405 crore in the year-ago period.

Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 16,663 crore, up from Rs 13,942 crore in the September quarter and Rs 5,657 crore a year earlier.

Improved scale drove operating leverage despite elevated marketing spends. Profit before tax increased 31.8% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 170 crore from Rs 129 crore in the preceding quarter, and rose 37.1% year-on-year from Rs 124 crore in Q3 FY25.

Profit after tax came in at Rs 102 crore for the quarter, up 56.9% sequentially from Rs 65 crore in Q2 FY26 and higher by 72.9% compared with Rs 59 crore reported in the December 2024 quarter.