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Eternal Q1 profit jumps 4x; Meta blocks Delhi protest content
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Eternal reported a significant jump in its revenue and profit for the first quarter of FY27. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ FSSAI raps ‘healthy’ food brands
■ Zetwerk-Ayr Energy spat escalates
■ IT under pressure
Albinder Dhindsa, CEO, Eternal
Zomato and Blinkit parent Eternal delivered a solid first quarter, with on-year profit shooting fourfold and revenues surging nearly three times. However, profits were down 47% sequentially.
Financials:
Segment-wise business:
Quick commerce unit Blinkit reported adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of Rs 102 crore in the April-June quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter of operating profitability.
In the same period last year, the company had reported an operating loss of Rs 162 crore.
Growth drivers: In a letter to shareholders, CEO Albinder Dhindsa said seasonal factors led the surge.
“We continue to focus our efforts on our three pillars of long-term growth — assortment expansion, geographical expansion, and demand densification,” Dhindsa said.
Also Read: Bistro sees limited impact from Swiggy's Toing, Rapido's Ownly: Deepinder Goyal
CJP protest in Delhi
Social media users and content creators at the ongoing student protests in Delhi said on Wednesday that Instagram was shadow-banning their photos and videos without an explanation or alert from parent Meta.
Driving the news: “Certain stories are now restricted and display the message ‘sensitive content’, even when there is nothing sensitive in them. These include clips from television broadcasts and similar content,” Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) founder and lawyer Apar Gupta told ET.
Users also flagged that Meta has marked content from Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and some political outfits as 'sensitive content'.
Tell me more: Students in Delhi led by CJP are protesting the recent NEET paper leak and demanding the resignation of union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Footage of the protests and clashes on Tuesday has filled the Instagram feeds across the country. Several users said the platform's algorithm is not prioritising such posts on their timelines.
Accounts blocked: Earlier today, Instagram blocked CJP’s Instagram handle briefly, before restoring its access. Before that, Meta 'mistakenly' blocked the WhatsApp account of CJP spokesperson Saurav Das due to issues with its automated moderation systems.
India's food regulator is tightening the screw on misleading health claims, prompting several food and beverage brands to change their labels, packaging, and advertisements.
What’s happening? The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has, over the past two weeks, issued notices over claims such as "healthy", "no added sugar", "fresh", "protein packed" and "100% natural".
For instance: Earlier this month, direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand The Whole Truth changed its labels from "no added sugar" to "sweetened with dates" after an FSSAI notice. The regulator does not allow products containing date syrup, date powder, honey, or fruit concentrates to make "no added sugar" claims.
Expert take: Experts said easy entry into the health and nutrition segment has led to a rise in the number of brands, making enforcement more difficult.
"The challenge is not the absence of rules, but ensuring compliance in an environment where new categories, products, digital channels, and influencer-led marketing is evolving rapidly," said Manisha Kapoor, CEO and secretary general, ASCI.
(L-R) Srinath Ramakkrushnan and Amrit Acharya, founders, Zetwerk
Contract manufacturer Zetwerk is facing fresh allegations of trade secret violations in the US.
California-headquartered startup Ayr Energy has filed counterclaims in a lawsuit brought by Zetwerk last October in a Texas court.
What’s the news: Ayr Energy has targeted Zetwerk and subsidiaries over transformer imports and sales. It’s also lodged a separate complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC).
The company alleged that Zetwerk used an individual who joined Ayr under false pretences, accessed confidential transformer-related information, and left after six weeks before joining Zetwerk to lead a transformer delivery business. Ayr is seeking at least $1 billion in damages and relief.
Where it began: This began last October, with Zetwerk accusing Ayr and founder Anirudh Reddy Edla of misusing confidential customer, pricing, and technical information to build a competing power equipment firm. It had sought around $100 million in damages, plus injunctive relief.
India's top IT services companies are likely to see weak revenue growth as cautious client spending, delayed project execution, and AI-led pricing pressures continue to weigh on the sector, analysts said.
By the numbers: Crisil expects the $315-billion industry to grow 1-3% in constant currency in FY27, and 2-4% in FY28. June-quarter earnings from five of the top six IT services firms reflect these challenges.
Company-wise:
Also in the letter:
■ FSSAI raps ‘healthy’ food brands
■ Zetwerk-Ayr Energy spat escalates
■ IT under pressure
Eternal Q1 net profit jumps 4x YoY on rising Blinkit profitability
Zomato and Blinkit parent Eternal delivered a solid first quarter, with on-year profit shooting fourfold and revenues surging nearly three times. However, profits were down 47% sequentially.
Financials:
- Net profit: Rs 92 crore, up from Rs 25 crore a year ago; down 47% compared to Q4 FY26.
- Revenue from operations: Rs 20,211 crore, versus Rs 7,167 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
- Adjusted Ebitda: Rs 555 crore
Segment-wise business:
- Food delivery: Net order value (NOV) at Rs 10,769 crore, accelerating over 20% year-on-year (YoY), marking its fourth consecutive quarter of growth.
- Blinkit: NOV grew 86% YoY to Rs 17,132 crore, with sequential growth of 19%.
- District: NOV grew 60% to Rs 3,218 crore.
- Hyperpure: Revenue grew 27% YoY on a like-for-like basis to Rs 1,034 crore.
- Bistro, Nugget: Adjusted revenue grew to Rs 95 crore against Rs 4 crore last year.
Blinkit logs Rs 102 crore operating profit in Q1
Quick commerce unit Blinkit reported adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of Rs 102 crore in the April-June quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter of operating profitability.
In the same period last year, the company had reported an operating loss of Rs 162 crore.
Growth drivers: In a letter to shareholders, CEO Albinder Dhindsa said seasonal factors led the surge.
“We continue to focus our efforts on our three pillars of long-term growth — assortment expansion, geographical expansion, and demand densification,” Dhindsa said.
Also Read: Bistro sees limited impact from Swiggy's Toing, Rapido's Ownly: Deepinder Goyal
Meta shadow-bans Delhi protest content, throttles reach, complain users
Social media users and content creators at the ongoing student protests in Delhi said on Wednesday that Instagram was shadow-banning their photos and videos without an explanation or alert from parent Meta.
Driving the news: “Certain stories are now restricted and display the message ‘sensitive content’, even when there is nothing sensitive in them. These include clips from television broadcasts and similar content,” Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) founder and lawyer Apar Gupta told ET.
Users also flagged that Meta has marked content from Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and some political outfits as 'sensitive content'.
Tell me more: Students in Delhi led by CJP are protesting the recent NEET paper leak and demanding the resignation of union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Footage of the protests and clashes on Tuesday has filled the Instagram feeds across the country. Several users said the platform's algorithm is not prioritising such posts on their timelines.
Accounts blocked: Earlier today, Instagram blocked CJP’s Instagram handle briefly, before restoring its access. Before that, Meta 'mistakenly' blocked the WhatsApp account of CJP spokesperson Saurav Das due to issues with its automated moderation systems.
ETtech Deep Dive: Food brands basking in 'healthy' glow get regulatory rap for dodgy ads
India's food regulator is tightening the screw on misleading health claims, prompting several food and beverage brands to change their labels, packaging, and advertisements.
What’s happening? The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has, over the past two weeks, issued notices over claims such as "healthy", "no added sugar", "fresh", "protein packed" and "100% natural".
- The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) reviewed 158 digital ads between January and June.
- It found 85% required changes in order to meet advertising norms.
For instance: Earlier this month, direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand The Whole Truth changed its labels from "no added sugar" to "sweetened with dates" after an FSSAI notice. The regulator does not allow products containing date syrup, date powder, honey, or fruit concentrates to make "no added sugar" claims.
Expert take: Experts said easy entry into the health and nutrition segment has led to a rise in the number of brands, making enforcement more difficult.
"The challenge is not the absence of rules, but ensuring compliance in an environment where new categories, products, digital channels, and influencer-led marketing is evolving rapidly," said Manisha Kapoor, CEO and secretary general, ASCI.
IPO-bound Zetwerk faces counterclaims in escalating US trade secret dispute
Contract manufacturer Zetwerk is facing fresh allegations of trade secret violations in the US.
California-headquartered startup Ayr Energy has filed counterclaims in a lawsuit brought by Zetwerk last October in a Texas court.
What’s the news: Ayr Energy has targeted Zetwerk and subsidiaries over transformer imports and sales. It’s also lodged a separate complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC).
The company alleged that Zetwerk used an individual who joined Ayr under false pretences, accessed confidential transformer-related information, and left after six weeks before joining Zetwerk to lead a transformer delivery business. Ayr is seeking at least $1 billion in damages and relief.
Where it began: This began last October, with Zetwerk accusing Ayr and founder Anirudh Reddy Edla of misusing confidential customer, pricing, and technical information to build a competing power equipment firm. It had sought around $100 million in damages, plus injunctive relief.
IT growth under pressure amid delayed deal ramp-ups
India's top IT services companies are likely to see weak revenue growth as cautious client spending, delayed project execution, and AI-led pricing pressures continue to weigh on the sector, analysts said.
By the numbers: Crisil expects the $315-billion industry to grow 1-3% in constant currency in FY27, and 2-4% in FY28. June-quarter earnings from five of the top six IT services firms reflect these challenges.
Company-wise:
- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS): 0.4% sequential constant currency growth; $9.5 billion in deal bookings, down from $12 billion on-quarter.
- LTM: 0.3% growth; $1.68 billion in total contract value (TCV).
- Tech Mahindra: 2.6% growth — the fastest among the top five IT firms — and over $1 billion in deal wins for the third straight quarter.
- Wipro: Revenue fell 1.2%; guided for another weak quarter.
- HCLTech: Revenue declined 0.5%; net new bookings at $2.4 billion, excluding a mega deal.
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